MediaDavid Petraeusroger ailes fox newsFox News

KT McFarland Pushes Back On Ailes, Petraeus Story: 'I Know Now That Roger Was Joking'

Fox News Contributor Pushes Back
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Senior Editor, HuffPost

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Fox News' national security analyst KT McFarland responded on Wednesday to the revelation that, during a conversation with David Petraeus, she told the former general that Fox News chief Roger Ailes wanted him to run for president.

The Washington Post's Bob Woodward broke the story on Tuesday, releasing a 13-minute recording of the conversation between McFarland and Petraeus. During the discussion, McFarland said she had a message for Petraeus from Ailes: if he was not offered the position as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he should run for president in 2012. Ailes told Woodward that he was making a "joke" when he suggested Petraeus run for president.

Woodward's story garnered a great deal of attention. The Post's Erik Wemple described why the report made such a splash in media and political circles: the blatant conflict of interest that rests at the heart of the story and at the top of Fox News.

The top executive at a cable news network passed along unsolicited advice to a general — boosterish, adoring advice. Mind you, the person to whom he passed along this boosterish, adoring advice was at the center one of the country’s most stubborn and critical news stories. No need to consult Poynter.org to determine whether this was a colossal conflict of interest. Don’t get too breathless about this spasm of Ailes political activism, however: It’s not the first time.

On Wednesday, McFarland responded to criticism aimed at her, Ailes and Fox News. She described herself as "bewildered" by the press' reaction but admitted that she "now" knows Ailes "was joking" about suggesting Petraeus run for office, "but at the time ... wasn't sure."

She also wrote that Woodward was "way off base to characterize [the conversation] as a serious attempt to get him to run, or to give him political advice." She claimed to have passed the exchange off in a chummy fashion:

I realize conspiracy theorists have used this off-the-record interview to claim it was some plot to put Petraeus in the Oval Office. But it was little more than one defense analyst (me) trading some political gossip and laughs with one of the country’s most important military leaders (Petraeus).

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Before You Go

The David Petraeus Scandal
Jill Kelley, David Petraeus(01 of29)
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Jill Kelley leaves her home Monday, Nov 12, 2012 in Tampa, Fla. Kelley is identified as the woman who allegedly received harassing emails from Gen. David Petraeus' paramour, Paula Broadwell. She serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (credit:AP)
Gen. John Allen(02 of29)
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File - In this Oct. 10, 2012 file photo, U.S. General John Allen stands during a media conference after a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012 that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigation for alleged "inappropriate communications" with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File) (credit:AP)
Paula Broadwell(03 of29)
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In this Jan. 15, 2012 photo, Paula Broadwell, author of the David Petraeus biography "All In," poses for photos in Charlotte, N.C. Petraeus, the retired four-star general renowned for taking charge of the military campaigns in Iraq and then Afghanistan, abruptly resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA, admitting to an extramarital affair. Petraeus carried on the affair with Broadwell, according to several U.S. officials with knowledge of the situation. (AP Photo/The Charlotte Observer, T. Ortega Gaines) LOCAL TV OUT (WSOC, WBTV, WCNC, WCCB); LOCAL PRINT OUT (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, CREATIVE LOAFLING, CHARLOTTE WEEKLY, MECHLENBURG TIMES, CHARLOTTE MAGAZINE, CHARLOTTE PARENTS) LOCAL RADIO OUT (WBT) (credit:AP)
Leon Panetta, John Allen, David Petraeus(04 of29)
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FILE POOL - In this July 9, 2011 file photo, USMC Gen. John Allen, left, and Army Gen. David Petraeus, top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and incoming CIA Director, greet former CIA Director and new U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, right, as he lands in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, July 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul J. Richards, Pool) (credit:AP)
John Allen(05 of29)
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FILE -- In an April 28, 2011 file photo Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Allen, speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The sex scandal that led to CIA Director David Petraeus' downfall widened Tuesday with word the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is under investigation for thousands of alleged "inappropriate communications" with another woman involved in the case. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak/file) (credit:AP)
(06 of29)
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FBI agents carry boxes and a computer from the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)
(07 of29)
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FBI agents carry boxes and a computer from the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)
(08 of29)
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The home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, is shown as FBI agents conduct a search inside in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Nov. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)
(09 of29)
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FBI agents leave the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, after a search in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)
(10 of29)
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg police stand guard outside the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)
(11 of29)
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FBI agents conduct a search inside the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Nov. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)
(12 of29)
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An FBI agent carries boxes from the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)
(13 of29)
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An FBI agent carries boxes to the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)
Jill Kelley, David Petraeus(14 of29)
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A Tampa police officer walks away after talking to Jill Kelley through the window at her home Monday, Nov 12, 2012 in Tampa, Fla. Kelley is identified as the woman who allegedly received harassing emails from Gen. David Petraeus' paramour, Paula Broadwell. She serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (credit:AP)
Jill Kelley, David Petraeus(15 of29)
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Jill Kelley leaves her home Monday, Nov 12, 2012 in Tampa, Fla. Kelley is identified as the woman who received threatening emails from Gen. David Petraeus' paramour, Paula Broadwell. She serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (credit:AP)
Jill Kelley, David Petraeus(16 of29)
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ADDS ALLEGEDLY AND CORRECTS TO RECEIVED HARASSING EMAILS, NOT THREATENING EMAILS - Walkers pass the home of Jill Kelley in Tampa, Fla. on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012. Kelley is identified as the woman who received allegedly harassing emails from Gen. David Petraeus' paramour, Paula Broadwell. She serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (credit:AP)
David Petraeus, Jill Kelley(17 of29)
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This photo taken Monday, Nov. 12, 2012 shows the home of Jill Kelley in Tampa, Fla. Kelley is identified as the woman who received threatening emails from Gen. David Petraeus' paramour, Paula Broadwell. She serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (credit:AP)
(18 of29)
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FILE - In this June 23, 2011, file photo, Gen. David Petraeus, center, walks with his wife Holly, left, past a seated Paula Broadwell, rear right, as he arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee during a hearing on his nomination to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Capitol Hill in Washington. Petraeus quit Nov. 9, 2012, after acknowledging an extramarital relationship. As questions arise about the extramarital affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, she has remained quiet about details of their relationship. However, information has emerged about Jill Kelley, the woman who received the emails from Broadwell that led to the FBIs discovery of Petraeus indiscretion. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) (credit:AP)
(19 of29)
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In the frame grab from C-SPAN Book TV video taken Feb. 6, 2012, author Paula Broadwell speaks to an audience about the book she co-authored, "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus," at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington. The scandal that brought down CIA Director David Petraeus started with harassing emails sent by his biographer and paramour, Broadwell, to another woman, and eventually led the FBI to discover he was having an affair, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012. Petraeus quit Friday, Nov. 9, after acknowledging an extramarital relationship. (AP Photo/C-SPAN Book TV) (credit:AP)
Paula Broadwell(20 of29)
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In this Jan. 15, 2012 photo, Paula Broadwell, author of the David Petraeus biography "All In," poses for photos in Charlotte, N.C. Petraeus, the retired four-star general renowned for taking charge of the military campaigns in Iraq and then Afghanistan, abruptly resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA, admitting to an extramarital affair. Petraeus carried on the affair with Broadwell, according to several U.S. officials with knowledge of the situation. (AP Photo/The Charlotte Observer, T. Ortega Gaines) LOCAL TV OUT (WSOC, WBTV, WCNC, WCCB); LOCAL PRINT OUT (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, CREATIVE LOAFLING, CHARLOTTE WEEKLY, MECHLENBURG TIMES, CHARLOTTE MAGAZINE, CHARLOTTE PARENTS) LOCAL RADIO OUT (WBT) (credit:AP)
David Patreaus, Holly Petreaus(21 of29)
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FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2011 file photo, former Commander of International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Gen. Davis Petraeus, standing with his wife Holly, participates in an armed forces farewell tribute and retirement ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va. Gen. Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA after admitting he had an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) (credit:AP)
David Patreaus, Holly Petreaus(22 of29)
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FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2011 file photo, former Commander of International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Gen. Davis Petraeus kisses his wife Holly during an armed forces farewell tribute and retirement ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va. Gen. Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA after admitting he had an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) (credit:AP)
Barack Obama, David Petraeus(23 of29)
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FILE - In this June 23, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, accompanied by Gen. David Petraeus, announces that Petraeus would replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal, from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA after admitting he had an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) (credit:AP)
Barack Obama, David Petraeus(24 of29)
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FILE - In this July 21, 2008 file photo, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, left, and then-top U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, take a helicopter ride over Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Iraq. Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA after admitting he had an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/Ssg. Lorie Jewell, Pool, File) (credit:AP)
David Petraeus(25 of29)
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FILE - In this June 29, 2010 file photo, Gen. David Petraeus testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA after admitting he had an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) (credit:AP)
David Petraeus(26 of29)
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FILE - In this March 1, 2008 file photo, then-top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, center left, talks to players during a youth soccer tournament in central Baghdad, Iraq. Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA after admitting he had an extramarital affair. (AP photo/Dusan Vranic, File) (credit:AP)
George W. Bush, David Petraeus(27 of29)
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FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2007 file photo, then-President George W. Bush, right, stands with Gen. David Petraeus as he arrives for a surprise visit at Al-Asad Airbase in Anbar province, Iraq. Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday, Nov. 9, 2012 as director of the CIA after admitting he had an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) (credit:AP)
Joe Biden, David Petraeus, Holly Knowlton Petraeus(28 of29)
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FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2011, file photo, new CIA director David Petraeus, right, accompanied by his wife Holly Knowlton Petraeus and Vice President Joe Biden, speaks following his swearing-in ceremony, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Petraeus has resigned as director of the CIA after admitting he had an extramarital affair. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) (credit:AP)
CIA Director David Petraeus Rings The Opening Bell At The New York Stock Exchange(29 of29)
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NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 18: Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus (center) prepares to ring the Opening Bell of the New York Stock Exchange as the CIA Commemorates it's 65th Anniversary on September 18, 2012 in New York City. Standing to Mr. Petraeus's left is New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and on his right is Salvatore Cassano, NYC Fire Commissioner. Stocks fell in early trading as investors continued to be concerned about Europe and the global economy. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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