Washington Post reporter Matt Zapotosky had emailed a DOJ official with questions about the meeting because his editors were “still pretty interested” in the story. He added, however, that he’d like to “put it to rest.”

Zapotosky has written dozens of stories related to the DOJ’s Russia investigation, including a “Who’s who in the government’s investigation into Russia ties” on Friday. But last summer, confronted with news about a meeting between powerful people held in secret on an airport tarmac, he thought it best to “put it to rest.”