Washington DC, July 22 . In a new development on “press pool” front, the White House has said it will remove the Wall Street Journal from one of the coveted press seats on President Trump’s upcoming trip to Scotland.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt made this announcement yesterday, saying that the change was made “due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct,” a reference to the publication’s recent story about Trump and tainted Jeffrey Epstein, reports CNN.
A news story published in the WSJ on July 17 had reportedly described a collection of letters gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, including a note bearing Trump’s name and an outline of a naked woman.
Furious over this, Trump filed a lawsuit the next day, claiming defamation “because no authentic letter or drawing exists”.
To retaliate against the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, the White House now wants to manage access to Trump.
A Journal reporter (who was not involved with the Epstein birthday letter story) was to be in the press pool during the president’s trip to his Scottish golf courses.
“As the appeals court confirmed, the Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces,” Leavitt said.
The pool is a small group of journalists who travel with the president and cover events on behalf of the entire press corps.
Earlier, in February, Trump fought with the AP over its labelling of the Gulf of Mexico, instead of referring it as the Gulf of America as directed by the president.
The AP, a global news outlet, still stick to mentioning the Gulf of Mexico by its name in its stories while also acknowledging Trump’s order, prompting a months-long legal dispute over access to the press.
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