CNN and Christopher Stevens' personal journal

NEW YORK- Anderson Cooper revealed Friday night that CNN had found U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens' personal journal following the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed him and acknowledged the network used the journal in its reporting without previously disclosing the source. 


UPDATE: 3:27 p.m. -- The Wall Street Journal reports that CNN aired its reports based on the contents of Stevens' journal against the wishes of his family.  

But family members and U.S. officials were surprised when CNN anchor Anderson Cooper appeared to use the information from the journal by attributing it to a source familiar with Mr. Stevens's thinking.

"Whose first instinct is to remove from a crime scene, the diary of a man killed along with three other Americans serving our country, read it, transcribe it, email it around your newsroom for others to read, and only when their curiosity is fully satisfied thinks to call the family or notify the authorities?" [State Dept. spokesman Philippe] Reines asked.

UPDATE: 10:42 p.m. -- The State Dept. issued a blistering response Saturday night, calling CNN's handling of Stevens' journal "disgusting."  

CNN's Use Of Christopher Stevens' Journal Is 'Disgusting': State Dept. Full statement here.

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