CNN President Jeff Zucker addressed concerns about his decision to appoint a former Trump administration official to the position of political editor, vouching for her character on a staff editorial call and clarifying that her role won’t involve steering election debate or town hall coverage.

Mr. Zucker made the remarks about his hiring of Sarah Isgur, a former Justice Department spokeswoman, near the end of CNN’s daily 9.a.m. editorial conference call on Friday, people familiar with the situation said.

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