Trump's HHS alters CDC documents for political reasons, official says - CNN

Officials within HHS had defended the demand, saying that CDC fell under the agency's umbrella and that all communications and public documents needed to be cleared at the top.

A federal official told CNN that in addition to reviewing reports, HHS political appointee Paul Alexander has regularly added his input -- often interpreted by CDC officials as political in nature -- to weekly scientific reports intended to track the ongoing coronavirus pandemic response.

Robert Redfield has in the past defended the agency and denied officials there are putting politics ahead of science.

The federal health official who talked to CNN added there have been efforts this summer by HHS to all together stop the release of some of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, some of which have been focused on the latest information on coronavirus.

The source could not provide specifics on what language was changed in these reports by the Trump administration.

On Saturday, Joe Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield called the move a "repugnant betrayal" and told CNN in a statement that it is "further proof that the Trump Administration has been systematically putting political optics ahead of the safety of the American people."

This story has been updated to include comments from the Biden campaign.