Breaking a tradition that's been in place since the 1950s, the White House Correspondents' Association is no longer choosing the rotation of reporters in the White House pool, and who gets to go on Air Force One.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, announced the change during the Tuesday news briefing.
Even a Fox News reporter called it a "short-sighted decision."
Just reading what she said, you can feel her contempt for reporters. "A group of DC based journalists, the White House Correspondents' Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the President of the United States. Not anymore. Today, I was proud to announce that we are giving the power back to the people."
Perhaps she has forgotten or never knew history, but "power to the people" was the slogan of the Black Panthers, a militaristic Black organization in the '60s, along with many other movements around the world. A free press serves the people, and so should the government, which Trump and his administration seem to have forgotten.
Leavitt wasn't done. "Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team." Leavitt also said that the invitation would be extended to well deserving outlets that have never had a place. Meaning podcasters and right-wing news organizations.
This is right after the Associated Press was barred from White House events because they refused to take the Gulf of Mexico out of their style book, while they had acknowledged that Trump had rechristened it as the Gulf of America. I covered this in AP vs. the White House - Gulf of America case on hold.
Reporters are simply not going to be able to ask pointed questions anymore. News organizations will be penalized for doing so. Anytime that Trump says that a reporter has asked a nasty question, or said that the person is a nasty reporter, or their news agency is nasty or fake news, it will be noted and punished accordingly. That means everybody except Fox News, Newsmax and OAN.
"The White House wasted no time in implemeting the new policy over the composition of the press pool, ejecting a HuffPost reporter from Wednesday's pool rotation and removing Reuters from its traditional spot, one day after the announcement."
Later on Wednesday, when Trump had his first meeting with his cabinet, an Associated Press photographer and three reporters from Reuters, Huffpost and Der Taggesspiegel, a German newspaper, were barred from participation.
Jacqui Heinrich, a Fox News senior White House correspondent and a WHCA board member posted, "This move does not give power back to the people. It gives power to the White House. The WHCA is democratically elected by the full time White House press corps. WHCA has determined pools for decades because only representatives FROM our outlets can determine resources all those outlets have, such as staffing, in order to get the president's message out to the largest possible audience, no matter the day or hour."
The White House Correspondents' Association started in 1914. Every president since Calvin Coolidge in 1924 has attended at least one of the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinners. That is until Donald Trump. There must be a question now whether they will even invite him this year. Maybe they shouldn't, just to make a point. Donald Trump must constantly be told that he's an outcast.
The Associated Press case against the White House could have a significant effect on this change in policy. So could the case of Jim Acosta in 2018.
At a news conference at the White House in 2018, Jim Acosta was trying to ask a question, using the microphone that gets handed around to the reporters, and Trump didn't want to let him ask it, and Acosta held on to it until he could ask his question. A White House staffer tried to take it away from him, but he refused until he had asked his question. Later he was told that his credentials had been revoked. The White House tried to say that he assaulted the White House staffer. However there was a full room of newsmen as witnesses and it was a totally bogus claim. Acosta filed a federal lawsuit in order to get back his access, and the White House caved under the pressure and gave him back his credentials.
"It's surreal to watch these so-called new media people asking softball, ludicrous questions to Trump and Leavitt. I never thought I'd see plants in press briefings of the highest seat of American power," said a reporter, who wished to be anonymous, for obvious reasons.
The news organization massacre isn't just at the White House. The Pentagon has also removed eight news organizations from workstations at the Pentagon, including NPR, and invited in seven conservative and right-wing news organizations to replace them. But they also brought in HuffPost, a liberal news gatherer. Strangely, Huffpost was barred from the pool at the White House at the same time.
After doing the article on Associated Press having their credentials yanked for not taking Gulf of Mexico out of their style book, I thought it was time to look at the actual case filing.
It's called Associated Press V. Budovich (the link brings up access to all the documents). Taylor Budovich is the Deputy Chief of Staff of Communications and Personnel.
Summons were issued for Budovich, Leavitt, Wiles, US Attorney for District of DC, and the US Attorney General.
AP filed a Motion for temporary restraining order, and also a Motion for preliminary injunction.
Amicus Curiae were filed by the White House Correspondents' Association, and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Timeline:
- Motion for preliminary injunction due by 3/10
- Opposition due by 3/11
- Reply due by 3/17
- Motion hearing set for 3/20 at 10:00 a.m
The brief by the White House Correspondents' Association is interesting. They have 800 members representing 300 news organizations. They describe themselves as a bulwark to government influence over White House news coverage. Well, they've got a new problem after the changes Karoline Leavitt laid out today. Essentially, they are having their credentials yanked, but in a different way than the Associated Press case. They've still got a First Amendment freedom of speech case as well as a Fifth Amendment due process case just like AP.
Seeing as how it applies to the entire White House Press Corps, it actually might be easier to win. Changing a 70-year-old tradition must have some standing.
The White House Correspondents' Association has their own website, and they already have a statement about the press pool changes.
This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.
To be clear, the White House did not give the WHCA any heads up or have any discussions about today's announcements. But the WHCA will never stop advocating for comprehensive access, full transparency and the right of the American public to read, listen to and watch reports from the White House, delivered without fear or favor.
Eugene Daniel's WHCA President
Didn't say anything about filing a lawsuit just yet. But the fact that they filed a brief in the AP case tells me that they will do something. I used their online contact form to tell them that they had both a First Amendment free speech and Fifth Amendment due process case. Especially since it's transparently punitive and government censorship. Considering how crazy the Republicans went over supposed conservative censorship on social media a while back, this should raise a ruckus for sure.
The fight for the First Amendment is on. Trump and his staff think they can get away with anything. Trump threatens to sue a new book writer. Donald let's the Wall Street Journal know he's smarter than their editorial board, only with a veiled threat, because Rupert Murdoch is his friend. Associated Press is fighting for the right to be right, and the White House Correspondent' Association, it's members and news organizations, are having to fight for the right just to cover the White House. And this is all just in the last week.
When even a Fox News senior newsman says what just happened at the White House is ill conceived, you know it's got to be flat wrong.
The First Amendment was the first for a reason, and no government official or administration can ignore it for long. The courts will always rule in its favor. Then we find out what happens when Trump ignores it.
