Fox News’s Shepard Smith thinks CNN is being treated unfairly in the wake of publishing, then retracting, an unvetted story and gave the biased network a vociferous defense on his program.

Smith was audibly disgusted after watching the White House briefing on Tuesday with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was filling in for press secretary Sean Spicer, in which she nailed CNN for trying to tie the Trump administration to Russia with an unfounded story. Smith asked for Wall Street Journal associate editor John Bussey’s thoughts on the matter.

“Unusual. More ring-fencing of the White House against the press,” Bussey said.

“What are they doing?” asked Smith in disbelief. “I know they need a foil.”

“Yeah, I think it’s a, you know, desire to build a wall around the White House to limit inquiry into what they do, accountability, and you have a chance to criticize the press,” Bussey added, saying CNN handled the situation exactly how a media organization should.

Smith agreed, stating, “It’s like an example of how to do it. If you make a mistake, Journalism 101 says you admit your mistake, you correct it immediately, and you take corrective action. And that’s what they did.”

Bussey said the Trump administration could actually learn something from CNN’s example and start retracting things they get wrong. 

“Depends on what your goal is,” Smith concluded. What's your goal, Shepherd?

H/T Mediaite