Once again CNN adds to its nefarious reputation as America’s leading peddler of fake news. On Monday, CNN dropped another “bombshell” story in which it alleged “President Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence” that could have contributed to exposing a covert Russian source as a spy. The story claimed, without offering any specifics, that in a May 2017 Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Trump discussed highly classified information that potentially risked exposing a high-level U.S. source within the Kremlin.

The trouble is, the story is not true, as even The New York Times observed. There was a high-level U.S. source within the Kremlin, and the CIA did work to extract him over increasing fears that the Russians would find out his identity. However, the allegation that Trump’s supposed mishandling of classified intelligence was what motivated the CIA to act is flat out wrong.

And the CIA did something it rarely does — issue a public denial of the CNN report. CIA Director of Public Affairs Brittany Bramell stated, “Misguided speculation that the president’s handling of our nation’s most sensitive intelligence — which he has access to each and every day — drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate.”

Former CIA Director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also weighed in: “The reporting is materially inaccurate. And you should know, as a former CIA director, I don’t talk about things like this very often — it is only the occasions that I think put people at risk, when the reporting is so egregious as to create enormous risks to the United States of America, that I even comment the way I just did.” He added, “I won’t say anything more about it. Suffice to say that the reporting there is factually wrong.”

A source familiar with the situation noted, “In their fervor to blame President Trump for mishandling classified information, CNN potentially risked lives. They had multiple on-the-record quotes from administration officials telling them. Their story was not only wrong, but irresponsible and dangerous, and CNN decided to run with it anyway.”

In fact, the real culprit in this whole exposure case ironically is the mainstream media. As the Times reports, “Former intelligence officials said there was no public evidence that Mr. Trump directly endangered the source, and other current American officials insisted that media scrutiny of the agency’s sources alone was the impetus for the extraction.” So, CNN is blaming Trump for an action the network is guilt of.