White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

White House Communications Director Mike Dubke Resigns

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

After only three months on the job, White House communications director Mike Dubke has resigned. Dubke tendered his resignation on May 18, but the news has only become public, according to stories first published in Axios and the Washington Post.

According to reports, Dubke tendered his resignation on May 18, but offered to stay with the administration throughout President Trump’s first international trip.

As communications director, his primary focus was helping restructure the press operations of the White House, and is leaving on good terms, according to a senior administration official.

Dubke’s last day has yet to be set. It is assumed his job will remain open in the short term.

White House Deliberately Sending Fake News “Leaks” to Journalists

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The White House has been providing intentionally false information and “fake news” to The New York Times, according to White House correspondent Maggie Haberman.

On Twitter, conservative radio talk show host Bill Mitchell posted: “You know what we should do? Start flooding the NYTimes and WAPO tip lines with all kinds of crazy “leaks.”  Then laugh when they print them!”

However, New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman responded that this was already the case, replying “The Trump administration has tried this a few times, sir.  We actually vet these things.”

In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Kyle Pope, editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review discusses the greatest threats to a free press today.

“I think the bigger risk right now is of somebody getting duped — intentional misdirection or fabricated leaks. In this climate, that is more what I would be worried about.”

President Trump has frequently criticized the mainstream media, and particularly The New York Times, saying recently in an interview with a conservative blog that the Times’ “intent is so evil and so bad” that “they write lies.”

Comey Memo: Trump Asked FBI Director to “Lock Up” Reporters

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Photo courtesy Rich Girard via Flickr.

Late Tuesday, the New York Times reported a bombshell that former FBI Director James Comey had authored at least one memo documenting one-on-one discussions he had with President Donald Trump. Most devastating in the reported memo is that the president asked Comey to halt FBI investigations into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

However, other dark hints at the president’s war with the press were also reported in Comey’s memo, including Trump asking the head of the FBI to “consider putting reporters in prison.”

According to the memo, Comey met privately with President Trump following a meeting in the White House with other administration officials such as Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The president began the discussion with Comey by condemning “leaks” to the media, and asked the head of the FBI to consider putting journalists in prison for publishing classified information.

No American journalist has been prosecuted for publishing government secrets. But President Trump notably said in April that “it’s OK with me” if the Justice Department brought charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

During a House Intelligence Committee hearing in March this year, Comey testified on the topic of jailing journalists.

“That’s a harder question, as to whether a reporter incurs criminal liability by disclosing classified information,” he replied to an inquiry whether there was a law protecting journalists from prosecution.

Comey authored the memo immediately after meeting with the president as a paper trail documenting his perceived improper efforts by the president to influence an ongoing investigation.

Courts routinely consider FBI agents’ notes as credible evidence regarding the contents of conversations.

The White House has so far been silent on the reports regarding the contents of former director Comey’s memo. White House press secretary Sean Spicer did not take questions from journalists travelling on Air Force One Wednesday morning. President Trump also did not speak with reporters aboard the aircraft. Trump’s twitter feed was also uncharacteristically silent Wednesday morning.

Trump Contradicts White House Press Team, Threatens to End All White House Press Briefings, Hints Recordings May Exist

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

In a week dominated by the news of President Trump firing former FBI director James Comey late Tuesday, the narrative from the White House and its supporters has been inconsistent and unclear, ranging from contradictory and misleading to adversarial.

Since Comey’s dismissal, the explanation and reasoning from White House press staff has been constantly evolving. Deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during Wednesday’s press briefing that the president fired the former FBI director after receiving such recommendation from the Department of Justice. This argument has also been aggressively stated by others in the White House, including Vice President Mike Pence and special advisor Kellyanne Conway.

President Trump contradicted his press team Thursday night during an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt.

“I was going to fire Comey – my decision,” Trump said. “There is no good time to it, by the way. I was going to fire regardless of recommendation.”

Facing backlash on Thursday, Sanders stated she had answered questions based on facts as she had understood it at the time.

“I didn’t ask that question directly, ‘had you already made that decision.’ I went off of the information that I had when I answered your question,” Sanders stated during Thursday’s press briefing.

In response to the confusion and contradictory statements coming from White House staff and supporters, President Trump has suggested he may end all press briefings.

In addition, the president hinted that there possibly could be recordings of conversations he held with Comey in the White House.

The White House press office has not yet commented on the existence of recordings between the two individuals.

President Trump Won’t Meet the Press

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Jeff Goldblum, Emilie Livington, Robin Dearden and Bryan Cranston at the 2016 Garden Brunch. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

It’s only three days until the top journalists and policymakers celebrate the white house press corps but the leader of the free world will be in Harrisburg, PA holding a rally that evening.  President Donald Trump has previously announced he will not attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.  Instead, he recently announced he will host a rally in Pennsylvania the night of April 29th.

The White House would not offer details on rally details such as venue or topic.  According to Trump’s campaign website, the rally will take place in Harrisburg at 7:30 PM.

President Trump has taken an adversarial tone toward many in the mainstream media, including calling network news channels and print publications “fake news.”  No member of the White House staff will attend this year’s Correspondents’ Dinner in “solidarity” with the president.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner will take place on Saturday at the Washington Hilton, annually drawing more than 2,000 reporters, celebrities and politicians.  Trump will be the first sitting president not in attendance since Ronald Reagan was recovering from an assassination attempt in 1981.

“The Daily Show’s” Hasan Minjah will be the featured performer at this year’s dinner, and legendary reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein will present journalism awards.  Proceeds from the dinner will fund scholarships for exceptional journalism students.

Trump Family Hosts White House Easter Egg Roll

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Photo courtesy the White House.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted their first White House Easter Egg Roll, amidst recent doubts the event would even take place.

With weather being overcast and cool on Monday, the Trumps welcomed children and their families from across the nation to partake in the 139-year tradition, with crowds approaching 20,000 people expected. About 200 volunteers – a fifth of the normal number – staffed the event.

Guests participated in activities beyond the egg rolling itself, including an egg hunt, decorating cookies, writing letters to U.S. troops, participating in a Minecraft coding activity with volunteers from Microsoft, and characters such as the Easter Bunny and Sesame Street’s Elmo.

Addressing the crowd, the President thanked the crowds and the soldiers deployed around the globe.

“We will be stronger and bigger and better as a nation than ever before and we are right on track…. Thanks you everybody for coming. We’re going to do cards for soldiers. Melania and Barron and myself are going to sign some cards for some great troops… We’re going come out and join you… for a great Easter egg roll.”

The first lady also addressed the participants, saying it was the “first time my husband and I are hosting this wonderful tradition. It’s great that all of you are here with us today. I want to thank the military band, staff and all the volunteers who worked tirelessly to make sure you enjoy the activities.”

At 10:30 AM, as a slight rain slowed to a drizzle, the Trumps joined scores of children waiting to begin.

“I’ve seen those kids and they’re highly, highly competitive,” the president said.

How important is President Trump’s Easter Egg Roll? This year Mark Halperin was on site as well as the usual morning show hosts including the Today Show’s Al Roker.

Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer Explain Why President Trump is Skipping out on This Year’s White House Correspondents Dinner

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Photo courtesy Newseum.

Wednesday’s Newseum Press Summit offered it’s fair share of newsworthy moments with one-on-one’s with both Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway. Both of them fielded questions about their place in the controversial new administration during its first 100 days, and they each gave some clues as to why President Trump and his administration have decided to skip out on the White House Correspondents Dinner this year.

Photo courtesy Haddad Media

Sean Spicer seemed to answer that question when asked by Greta Van Susteren about the decision to boycott the event, saying, “The relationship [with the press] and the coverage we have gotten, I don’t think we should fake it.”

Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

“I don’t think watching a bunch of celebrities walk by is any indication how much you care about and respect the press,” he added.

According to Variety, Kellyanne Conway cited “the unhappiness with the way that the administration has been covered [in the news media] and that it was a ‘two way’ street of responsibility.”

Conway added, “There is a selectivity there also — what do we choose to highlight and allow to recede into the background.”

You can read more about their comments here: http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/kellyanne-conway-criticizes-trump-media-coverage-1202029112/

Legendary Bob Schieffer Says To Undermine Media is to Undermine The Nation in Stunning Newseum Speech

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media

Former CBS News “Face the Nation” moderator Bob Schieffer, one of the most widely recognized reporters of our time, delivered the concluding address today at “The President and the Press: The First Amendment in the First 100 Days” at the Newseum.

Addressing the rise of “fake news” and distractions used as political tools by campaigns, Schieffer used the example of the presidential election.

“No matter what the conversation people are having at a dinner party, if you throw a dead cat in the middle of the table, the conversation immediately turns to the dead cat. Donald Trump threw cats dead and alive on the table… And suddenly the attention was back on what he was talking about and on him,” Schieffer said.

Turning to the animosity with some government officials and the low public approval rating of the media, Schieffer concluded that journalists cannot dwell on name-calling.

“This year they hung less clever but really nasty names on us. This is all part of the job. It is something that we all know about and expect. That part is not to be taken seriously.”

Schieffer concluded by challenging journalists and the media to remain dedicated to the purpose of the industry, saying they “must give people news to improve their lives.”

“I have been a reporter for sixty years. And I have never been prouder of my profession than I am today.”

Bob Schieffer has been active in journalism since 1963, starting at the Dallas Star-Telegram. He has worked at CBS News since 1969 and moderated the Sunday CBS news show Face the Nation from 1991 to 2015.

Greta Van Susteren One-on-One with WH Press Sec Sean Spicer at the Newseum

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media

The Newseum hosted a landmark event on Tuesday, The President and the Press: The First Amendment in the First 100 Days. As part of the series of talks, Greta Van Susteren interviewed White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who address his role in the Trump administration, the next policy pushes from the White House, and some of the recent comments he made that have made news.

Sean Spicer said of tax reform, “it’s going to take some months,” before we see a plan.

Spicer also offered an apology for his comments about World War II from the previous day saying, “I have let the president down,” and calling his comments “inexcusable.”

Van Susteren asked about the White House’s decision to skip the Correspondent’s Dinner this year. According to Spicer, “This is not the appropriate year to go…I don’t think we should fake it.”

No White House Staff Will Attend Correspondents’ Dinner

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Correspondents’ Dinner place setting. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

There will be no representative from the White House at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. The Trump administration announced late Tuesday that White House staff will not attend this year’s Dinner out of “solidarity” with the president.

WHCA president Jeff Mason of Reuters sent a letter to the organization stating that “[t]he White House informed the White House Correspondents’ Association this evening that White House staff will not be attending this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner out of ‘solidarity’ with President Trump, who has previously announced that he would skip the event.”

The president announced on Twitter in February that he would not attend the annual dinner. But various White House figures had been rumored to be planning on attending, such as Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

“Only the White House can speak to the signal it wants to send with this decision, but our signal is clear,” wrote Mason. “We will celebrate the First Amendment on April 29 and look forward to acknowledging the important work of our terrific members and awarding scholarships to students who represent the next generation of our profession.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner will be held on April 29 at the Washington Hilton. Proceeds for the event go toward scholarships for exceptional students in journalism.