Should Nunberg — who has bragged about planting fake stories in the press — have been allowed to ramble for hours during repeated television interviews on Monday, even as questions were raised about whether he had been drinking or was suffering from distress?

More broadly, some question whether reporters are leaning too heavily on sketchy sources in their drive to dig up the latest dirt on the Trump administration and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling.

“This is emblematic of the continual efforts of the mainstream media trying to discredit election 2016,” former Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes said in a combative exchange with CNN anchor Erin Burnett after her own interview Monday night with Nunberg.