McClatchy's Jonathan Landay Joining Reuters

Landay is known for his critical coverage of the case for war in Iraq.
MSNBC

NEW YORK -- McClatchy's Jonathan Landay, who was part of the reporting team credited with the most skeptical coverage of the Bush administration's case for war in Iraq, is heading to Reuters to cover national security, according to a memo obtained by The Huffington Post.

"Obviously, Jon has done wonderful work over the years, ranging from his reports on the bogus intelligence about WMD in Iraq to this year’s Pulitzer-worthy work on the Senate, the CIA and torture," McClatchy Washington bureau chief Jim Asher wrote in the memo.

Landay, Marisa Taylor and Ali Watkins -- who is now a reporter at HuffPost -- were 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalists for deep reporting on the Senate Intelligence Committee's report regarding the CIA's torture programs.

At Reuters, Landay will rejoin Warren Strobel, who was his partner on many critical stories during the run-up to Iraq. At the time, both Landay and Strobel worked for Knight-Ridder, which later became part of the McClatchy newspaper chain.

The memo from Asher, who recently announced he'll soon leave McClatchy himself, is below:

It is my unhappy duty to tell you that Jonathan Landay is leaving McClatchy to take a job with Reuters covering national security.

Obviously, Jon has done wonderful work over the years, ranging from his reports on the bogus intelligence about WMD in Iraq to this year’s Pulitzer-worthy work on the Senate, the CIA and torture. Just last week, he wrote some excellent stories on Russia’s new military adventure in Syria.

I thank him for this work.

I also want to thank him for his dedication to journalism and for the risks he's taken on behalf of our craft and for our company. He’s regularly has been on war zones and in dangerous places. His heroic efforts to help save a gravely wounded soldier in the midst of a firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan were nothing less than breathtaking.

As some of you know, Jon and I have known each other since my first days at The Philadelphia Inquirer when I was covering the New Jersey capital and he was working for UPI.

I've known a lot of marvelous journalists over my career and Jonathan is among just a handful I'd describe as the best in the business.

So it is with great admiration, respect and affection that I wish him the very best of luck and good fortune in his new job.

Jon's last day will be Oct. 23.

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