After 'liberal hack' criticism, CNN hires former CNBC reporter who coordinated with the Clinton campaign in 2016

Former CNBC White House correspondent John Harwood announced Tuesday that he had been hired by CNN — a notable acquisition by the network given its recent outrage over one of its reporters being called a "liberal hack."

Last week, Arizona Republican Sen. Martha McSally caused a stir when she dismissed CNN reporter Manu Raju as a "liberal hack" and refused to answer his question about President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial.

Harwood, a longtime CNBC correspondent, has a high-profile reputation of partisanship, particularly stemming from leaked Hillary Clinton campaign emails that exposed his conversations with her staff.

In hacked emails published by WikiLeaks in 2016, Harwood is revealed to have been complimenting Clinton in conversation with campaign chairman John Podesta, as well as angling for an interview with Clinton he said would be accommodating of her preferences.

In September 2015, Harwood asked Podesta what questions he should pose to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at an upcoming interview.

Also in September, Harwood wrote to Podesta complimenting how much more "comfortable" Clinton looked in a recent interview. In October, Harwood checked in with Podesta to see how he felt about "where things stand."

In November, he pressed Podesta to grant him an interview with Clinton about the economy, saying "It will be the kind of substantive, deep, textured conversation about the economy she wants."

Harwood was a moderator for the Republican primary debate in October 2015, during which he had a highly criticized exchange with then-candidate Donad Trump, asking if he was running a "comic book version of a presidential campaign."

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Harwood seemed to gloat about that question in an email to Podesta in December 2015.

"I imagine," Harwood wrote, "that Obama feels some (sad) vindication at this demonstration of his years-long point about the opposition party veering off the rails. I certainly am feeling that way with respect to how I questioned Trump at our debate."