Tapper previously pushed the infamous Steele dossier and Russiagate story which accused Trump of having ties to Russia. Tapper was even rewarded with the Merriman Smith Award for his coverage.

He repeatedly pushed the debunked conspiracy theory that the former president was "compromised" by Russia and Vladimir Putin but later admitted he was wrong in the wake of the Durham report, and that the findings exonerated the former president "to a degree."