CNN Executive Called Out Over Hosting Dinner for Obamas (Exclusive)

During CNN town hall, network president Jeff Zucker said it’s not a conflict of interest for a D.C. executive of the company to host the President and First Lady

During a CNN internal town hall Tuesday, network chief Jeff Zucker said it’s not a conflict of interest for an executive of the network to host the president and First Lady in their home, an insider familiar with the event told TheWrap.

Responding to an anonymous email question from a CNN staffer regarding an unnamed D.C. executive who hosted the Obamas — along with other parents of Sidwell Friends School [in D.C.] — in their home for dinner, Zucker said there’s no issue.

“Zucker said no [it’s not a conflict] because he goes to cocktail parties all the time with different parents of his children’s friends,” the insider told TheWrap.

An insider familiar with the gathering told TheWrap, “The dinner was for parents and kids from Sidwell Friends School [in D.C.], where President Obama sends his kids to school,” adding that it wasn’t a private dinner for the Obamas.

A CNN D.C. bureau spokesperson did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

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