Steve Brusk, most recently the supervising producer of CNN Politics, left the company two weeks ago, TheWrap has learned. Brusk’s resignation came about a month after he was the subject of a Project Veritas video released as part of its #ExposeCNN campaign.
CNN confirmed his departure to TheWrap on Thursday.
In an email dated Nov. 26 and obtained by TheWrap, Brusk wrote, “As I mark my 20-year anniversary at CNN this week, I have made the hard decision that this is the right time to step down.”
He continued, “Truth be told, I have barely had any time off or gotten much sleep the last five years — as we covered the campaign, the transition and the historic White House story. The stress of the last several weeks and being able to be home with my family for the holidays has confirmed for me this is the right decision.”
Brusk did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on whether the “stress of the last several weeks” referred to the Project Veritas video, which featured two CNN employees who did not work with Brusk and were recorded without their knowledge as they shared second-hand accusations of misconduct against him. CNN did not comment on the video at the time and Brusk’s once-active Twitter account hasn’t had any new posts since two days after the video’s release.
Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group that says it has attempted to expose possible journalistic bias but often resorts to distorting or manipulating video, released secretly-recorded videos of CNN staffers throughout October. The #ExposeCNN operation relied on video footage taken by Cary Poarch, who called himself a “CNN insider” at the network’s D.C. bureau. But according to a CNN spokesperson, Poarch wasn’t a CNN employee and was instead a freelance satellite truck operator whose company had been contracted by the network. Poarch had given hist notice prior to the release of the tapes, the spokesperson said. In interviews conducted by TheWrap with staffers after the release of videos targeting CNN president Jeff Zucker, most expressed a disinterest in or lack of awareness of the videos. One insider called the secret recording “gross.”