The recent Hillary email dump shows the Clinton machine talking about “placing” stories with “friendly” journalists. And one reporter in particular stood out as especially “friendly” (h/t to The Intercept):

You got that? “We have had her tee up stories for us before and never been disappointed. . . [W]e can . . . do the most shaping by going to Maggie.”

The “friendly” Maggie Haberman of Politico is now at . . . the New York Times. So it might be good to keep Haberman’s Very Special Relationship with the Clinton campaign in mind as you read, for example, today’s Haberman-penned story pushing the narrative of a beleaguered Trump, frightened to emerge from his “lonely fortress.” Focus on the language I have bolded for you in this passage, and reflect on the identity of the “reporter” who wrote the words:

It has been his pride and his palace, a soaring black skyscraper overlooking Manhattan that seemed to match Donald J. Trump’s ambition and ostentatiousness.

But Trump Tower, since Friday afternoon, has become a kind of lonely fortress for its most famous occupant, who holes up inside, increasingly isolated and upset, denounced almost every hour by another Republican official.

Mr. Trump was asked to stay away from a party gathering Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin, where Speaker Paul D. Ryan and other state luminaries took the stage, a striking rebuke that left the Republican nominee for president with no place to go on a Saturday 31 days before the election.

So he remained inside his enormous penthouse apartment on the 66th floor, and his corporate suite 40 stories below, for almost all of Friday and Saturday.

At times he was joined by his small circle of loyalists, who arrived to prepare him for Sunday night’s debate against Hillary Clinton but instead spent much of the time trying to figure out how to undo the damage wrought by the surfacing of an 11-year-old video recording on which he can be heard gleefully describing pushing himself on women and sexually assaulting them.

The language conveys, forcefully and colorfully, the precise narrative that Hillary Clinton is trying to push: Trump’s support is fading, he is beleaguered from all sides, and the election is essentially over. And who knows? That may be true. But, as you evaluate whether Trump is toast, you might just keep in mind that the people pushing that narrative are unrepentant leftists, doing their level best to aid Hillary — and earning extra scoops, and Clinton’s gratitude, for their friendliness.

By the way, all the best people love Haberman’s piece. Almost as if they are pushing the same narrative:

An amazing portrait of a man in his castle, by @maggieNYT. https://t.co/YJCMPXDAxi

— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) October 9, 2016

Great detail here from @maggieNYT https://t.co/2hSel4fktN

— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) October 9, 2016

one takeaway from @maggieNYT's great piece today is that Trump has clearly done no debate prep https://t.co/AaTiuxzieq

— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) October 9, 2016

The best part, from Hillary’s perspective? Thanks to Trump and his idiotic, immoral behavior, they didn’t even have to plant this story!

[Cross-posted at RedState.]