In July 2009, Reines struck a deal with journalist Marc Ambinder to provide an advance copy of a Hillary Clinton speech to Ambinder in exchange for positive reporting on Clinton. In its December 2009 profile of Hillary Clinton, "Vogue" magazine described him as Clinton's "Michael Clayton-esque image man and fixer." In March 2010, The Washington Post's "WhoRunsGov", a site offering user-contributed political profiles, moderated by an editorial team, included a profile of Reines as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, in its "Power 25: Press" series; and in July 2010, "Politico" included Reines in their "50 Politicos to Watch" list, categorizing him as a "fixer". In September 2012, Reines vigorously took issue with CNN over its use of Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens's diary, which CNN found at the site of an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi which killed the ambassador. CNN fired back by suggesting that the State Department was "attacking the messenger" because of "questions about why the State Department didn’t do more to protect Ambassador Stevens." Some media critics sided with CNN and questioned whether Reines' real grievance was indeed with CNN's disrespect for the privacy wishes of Stevens' family; BuzzFeed published an email exchange between Reines and Michael Hastings where the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State told Hastings to "Fuck off." Reines also took issue with a reporter's questions in December 2012, calling a Fox News correspondent's question about his boss "absolutely asinine." In the debate preparations for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, Reines stood in for Donald Trump. CBS commented that Reines is "known for his bullish, combative personality—traits that often mirror Trump’s personal debate style".