After White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) would no longer have control over the daily press pool, the association decried it as a move that “tears at the independence of a free press.”

But when the Biden administration revoked the press credentials of 442 reporters, the Washington Post reported that the WHCA took an “officially noncommittal stance.”

Between May and July in 2023, the Biden administration removed the White House press credentials from 442 reporters – cutting the number of reporters who had the credentials by about a third, The Daily Signal reported at the time. The purge came after the Biden White House changed the rules on who could receive the credentials, requiring them to obtain credentials from Congress or the Supreme Court. The move limited the number of reporters who had hard passes to attend White House press briefings or access the White House. Reporters who lost their hard passes then needed to obtain temporary day passes and undergo a Secret Service review to gain the same access.

On Tuesday, after the Trump administration announced it would decide which reporters would be included in the small pool that covers the president daily, WHCA president and incoming MSNBC weekend host Eugene Daniels released a statement saying the 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,” Daniels added. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.”

It’s an interesting statement from the president of an organization that, in 2021, said nothing publicly when the Biden administration began requesting questions ahead of time during press briefings. Some reporters began complaining about the practice, so the WHCA held a Zoom call about it, The Daily Beast reported at the time. During the call, leaders “advised print reporters to push back against requests by the White House press team to learn of questions in advance, or simply to not respond to the Biden team’s inquiries,” the Beast reported. At no time did the WHCA release a statement about the practice.

Instead, multiple reporters defended the practice, saying it was the norm before the first Trump administration and that Trump Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did it on occasion. It was the norm during the Biden administration; however, it was not an occasional occurrence for major events. It also showed then-President Joe Biden’s age and lack of mental faculties, as he would carry pictures of reporters along with their pre-submitted questions to the few press conferences he held.

One reporter angered by the process told the Beast that “the press can’t really do its job in the briefing room if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want.”

Yet the WHCA said nothing.

Also in 2021, CNN’s Brian Stelter ran a segment questioning whether Fox News reporters should be removed from the White House Press Pool.

“Should it be a part of the White House Press Pool … should it be afforded the privileges that come with news gathering?” Stelter asked his liberal guests in the segment.

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​[[{“value”:”

After White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) would no longer have control over the daily press pool, the association decried it as a move that “tears at the independence of a free press.”

But when the Biden administration revoked the press credentials of 442 reporters, the Washington Post reported that the WHCA took an “officially noncommittal stance.”

Between May and July in 2023, the Biden administration removed the White House press credentials from 442 reporters – cutting the number of reporters who had the credentials by about a third, The Daily Signal reported at the time. The purge came after the Biden White House changed the rules on who could receive the credentials, requiring them to obtain credentials from Congress or the Supreme Court. The move limited the number of reporters who had hard passes to attend White House press briefings or access the White House. Reporters who lost their hard passes then needed to obtain temporary day passes and undergo a Secret Service review to gain the same access.

On Tuesday, after the Trump administration announced it would decide which reporters would be included in the small pool that covers the president daily, WHCA president and incoming MSNBC weekend host Eugene Daniels released a statement saying the 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,” Daniels added. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.”

It’s an interesting statement from the president of an organization that, in 2021, said nothing publicly when the Biden administration began requesting questions ahead of time during press briefings. Some reporters began complaining about the practice, so the WHCA held a Zoom call about it, The Daily Beast reported at the time. During the call, leaders “advised print reporters to push back against requests by the White House press team to learn of questions in advance, or simply to not respond to the Biden team’s inquiries,” the Beast reported. At no time did the WHCA release a statement about the practice.

Instead, multiple reporters defended the practice, saying it was the norm before the first Trump administration and that Trump Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did it on occasion. It was the norm during the Biden administration; however, it was not an occasional occurrence for major events. It also showed then-President Joe Biden’s age and lack of mental faculties, as he would carry pictures of reporters along with their pre-submitted questions to the few press conferences he held.

One reporter angered by the process told the Beast that “the press can’t really do its job in the briefing room if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want.”

Yet the WHCA said nothing.

Also in 2021, CNN’s Brian Stelter ran a segment questioning whether Fox News reporters should be removed from the White House Press Pool.

“Should it be a part of the White House Press Pool … should it be afforded the privileges that come with news gathering?” Stelter asked his liberal guests in the segment.

“}]] 

 

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