White House Turns Away Journalists From CNN, MS NOW, and Politico After Trump Ban

Journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday, a day after President Trump announced he would bar the three news organizations over reporting he disliked.Akayla Gardner, a White House correspondent for MS NOW, said her White House-issued access badge failed to work at the security entrance near the West Wing, where reporters typically enter. “The officer asked me to hand over my badge; he said that it was disabled,” Ms. Gardner said in an on-air interview. “I asked why I could not get inside; he said it was above him.”A photographer for MS NOW was also asked to relinquish his badge, though a producer for the network was allowed inside, Ms. Gardner said.Betsy Klein, a veteran CNN correspondent, described a similar experience about an hour later. She said on CNN that a White House security officer she has known for years told her that her badge had been deactivated. “I asked if he had any more details he could share with me,” Ms. Klein said. “He said I should be referred to the White House press office for more information.”Cheyenne Haslett, a reporter at Politico, was also denied access Saturday morning, according to a note to staff from Politico’s editor in chief, Jonathan Greenberger, as described in the outlet’s Playbook newsletter. Mr. Greenberger wrote that Politico stands “by her and all reporters here covering the White House.”The president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, Jacqui Heinrich, said reporters from the targeted outlets are “being singled out for doing their jobs.”“This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office,” Ms. Heinrich, a senior White House correspondent for Fox News, said in a statement.Mr. Trump announced the ban Friday in a post on Truth Social. “I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning fake news CNN MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!) and Politico (the recipient of an illegal and ridiculous $8 million subscription, an all-time record, directly from the United States government, under crooked Joe Biden in order to keep them ‘alive.’ Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant reporting fake news! Media outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report fiction and lies when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump administration, or the United States of America. Period. Other fake news media outlets to follow,” he wrote.Speaking in the Oval Office later that day, Mr. Trump said the ban was a response to “cumulative stories” by the three outlets. “You get sick of it,” he said. He acknowledged the move might not survive a legal challenge but said, “I think it’s good to point it out whether it survives or doesn’t.”CNN called the ban “illegal” and said it would continue reporting “regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings.” MS NOW said it “intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.” Politico said it “will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones” and disputed Mr. Trump’s claim that it received an $8 million government subsidy, calling the claims “false” and “thoroughly debunked.”

White House Turns Away Journalists From CNN, MS NOW, and Politico After Trump Ban

White House Turns Away Journalists From CNN, MS NOW, and Politico After Trump Ban

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