U.S. State Department spokesman Philippe Reines says it is "disgusting" that news channel CNN has reported on the contents of the diary of slain U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, despite objections from the diplomat's family.
CNN said on its website Saturday the public has the right to know what CNN has learned from multiple sources about the fears and warnings of a terror threat before the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Stevens and three other Americans.
CNN says it found the journal on the floor of what it called the "largely unsecured" compound.
Reines says CNN "broke their pledge" to the Stevens family not to report on the journal. He said CNN transcribed the diary before telling anyone that it took the journal from the site of the attack.
CNN says its findings raise questions about why the State Department did not do more to protect Ambassador Stevens. CNN said perhaps the real question is "why is the State Department now attacking the messenger?"
The dairy was first mentioned on CNN Friday by Anderson Cooper.