White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Reports: Attorney General Jeff Sessions to Announce Criminal Investigations of Intelligence Leaks

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By U.S. Customs and Border Protection (160120-H-NI589-0103) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Unnamed officials are saying that Attorney General Jeff Sessions will announce in the upcoming few days a number of criminal leak investigations based on news reports containing sensitive intelligence information.

During an interview on Wednesday morning’s “Fox & Friends” program, White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci confirmed plans exist to launch the probe.

“I think he has got a plan that he has put together and at some point, I don’t know if it will be today, tomorrow or next week, he will announce that plan,” he said on the program.

Sessions’ actions come amid a days-long public admonishment of the attorney general by President Donald Trump, primarily on Twitter and in various interviews.  The president has strongly suggested that Sessions will not remain in his cabinet for much longer, but the attorney general has refused to resign his position.

White House Communications Director Scaramucci Begins Purge of West Wing Staff

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

On Tuesday, White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci publicly threatened to fire his entire team in attempts to stop anonymous leaking coming from the West Wing.

“If they don’t stop leaking, I’m going to put them out on Pennsylvania Avenue – it’s a very clear thing,” Scaramucci said. “I’m going to fire everybody, that’s how I’m going to do it. You’re either going to stop leaking or you’re going to get fired.”

Asked about recent press reports suggesting he had already started purging staff members, Scarmucci singled out articles saying the communications director was on the verge of firing senior assistant press secretary Michael Short specifically. An article was posted on Politico hours earlier naming Short as the first on the list for upcoming staff purges.

“The fact that you guys know about it before he does really upsets me as a human being and as a Roman Catholic, you got that? So I should have the opportunity, if I have to let someone go, to let the person go in a very humane, dignified way,” Scaramucci stated.

Short resigned shortly after publication of the Politico article saying he was to be terminated, before being fired by Scaramucci.

New York Times Requests Retraction from Fox News for “Malicious” ISIS Story

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Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

On Sunday, the New York Times asked Fox News for an on-air retraction and apology, after a story aired that appeared to blame the paper for publishing intelligence information that the show claimed led to the escape of a top ISIS leader.

“I am writing on behalf of The New York Times to request an on-air apology and tweet from Fox & Friends in regards to a malicious and inaccurate segment ‘NY Times leak allowed ISIS leader to slip away,’” the letter to Fox News read.

The on-air segment in question aired Saturday during the morning program Fox & Friends and claimed ISIS leader al-Baghdadi was “able to sneak away in the cover of darkness after a New York Times story went to print in 2015.” The story was based off an article published Friday evening on Fox News’ website, co-written by national security reporter Catherine Herridge.

Later in the day, Fox News responded by noting the article by Herridge had been updated and accused the Times of “hyperventilating to the media about a correction.” In a statement, the network said that “the New York Times didn’t reach out to anyone at Fox News until Sunday afternoon for a story that ran Friday night.”

President Donald Trump tweeted about the Fox News story on Saturday:

The Times noted in an article on Sunday that the Pentagon itself issued a press release containing the intelligence information three weeks before the article was published in the newspaper in 2015. “No senior American official complained publicly about the story until now, more than two years later.” The paper also noted the Pentagon was aware of the details of the article before publication and did not object.

ABC’s Jonathan Karl Elected as White House Correspondents Association President for 2019-2020 Term

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

The White House Correspondents Association announced Jonathan Karl of ABC News has been elected president of the organization for 2019-2020.

Currently chief White House correspondent for ABC News, Karl has also covered Congress and the Pentagon in his career. He began working for ABC in 2003 reporting from the State Department.

Karl received 104 votes out of 265 cast in the election for leadership of the White House Correspondents Association. Dallas Morning News’ Todd Gillman came in second with 87 votes.

In addition to being chosen as president of the organization, Karl was also appointed to a three-year term as an at-large board of directors member. Gillman was also named to the board as newspaper representative. Additionally, the New York Times’ Doug Mills was chosen to fill the photography seat on the board.

White House Correspondents Association Weighs Membership Rule Change

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

The White House Correspondents Association is considering a proposed change to its bylaws, requiring “regular members” of the organization to be credentialed through or work for an organization recognized by the Congressional Standing Committee.

Organization president and Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason suggested the reason for the change is that the Congressional Standing Committee is the “gold standard” for credentialing in the nation’s capital.

The White House Correspondents Association does not issue credentials itself. The mission of the organization is to advocate for freedom of the press, access to the White House and provides scholarships for exceptional journalism students.

Six journalists are circulating a letter opposing the rules change, including liberal commentator Bill Press, longtime independent correspondent Connie Lawn, and reporters for Newsmax, Circa and The Daily Signal. Charlie Spiering, White House correspondent for Breitbart, wrote in the letter that:

“The WHCA Board has in most cases done a great job in advocating for journalists’ access, and showing respect to all members. The proposed bylaws change regarding membership is an unfortunate exception. That’s because the bylaws change would mean some members and hard pass holders who regularly cover the White House will not have full participation in the organization that is supposed to represent them regarding access among other things.”

Breitbart was denied congressional press passes earlier this year, meaning reporters for the conservative news outlet would be eligible for associate membership, but not full membership in the White House Correspondents Association. The Congressional Standing Committee rejected Breitbart’s press passes over concerns about its ties to the Mercer family, who are Republican benefactors, and to the Government Accountability Institute, a nonprofit co-founded by former Breitbart chairman and White House strategist Steve Bannon.

Members of the White House Correspondents Association have until Friday to vote on the change to bylaws.

High School Journalist Lands Interview with Defense Secretary James Mattis

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Mercer Island High School. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Teddy Fischer, a student at Mercer Island High School in Washington state about to enter his junior year, snagged an exclusive 45-minute phone interview during the Memorial Day weekend with Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Having discovered a photo published by the Washington Post where the cabinet official’s phone number was visible, Fischer sent Mattis a text message.

“I never really thought it would work,” Fischer told Seattle’s KING5.  After sending a message to the number he found stating he was a student working for his school newspaper and a native of Washington state, the defense secretary called back and agreed to a phone interview.  Secretary Mattis is also from Washington state.

After preparing with his teacher and editor on questions, Fischer conducted an insightful, thorough discussion with Mattis, covering topics such as national politics, foreign policy, and issues facing teenagers today.  Fischer also said he learned an important lesson beyond public affairs.

“It never hurts to ask anybody anything,” he said.  “Even if they seem like they’re a distant figure, even if they seem like a powerful figure.  There’s a human side to politics and people are much more approachable than you think.”

White House Asked White House Correspondents’ Association to Publicly Rebuke Reporter

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James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Photo courtesy White House.

White House Correspondents’ Association president Jeff Mason said the White House had requested the association to criticize a specific article and publicly rebuke a particular journalist. Mason made his remarks during a town hall-style meeting where members asked questions of the association board.

“The White House has come to ask me specifically, asking me to intervene or criticize a news organization or a reporter… to release a statement criticizing a reporter’s story. We’ve made clear that’s not our role,” Mason said, without clarifying on when the White House made this request or which article or journalist was involved.

In a follow up after the meeting, Mason elaborated that he thought the White House considered it a role of the association to publicly reprimand its members to hold them accountable.

“I think it’s a reflection of frustration they have with the media and they’ve used the relationship with the board sometimes to take that out, just as we have raised our concern and frustrations with them. Part of that relationship has been drawing boundaries on what we do and don’t do,” Mason stated.

He said the association immediately declined the White House’s request when they asked him to release a statement on the matter.

Maine Governor Paul LePage Admits He Lies to Media

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Ogunquit, Maine.  Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Paul LePage, conservative Republican governor of Maine first elected in 2010, has always had a confrontational relationship with many in his state, including the media.

Recently, LePage lashed out when stories emerged in state papers and online that he was planning to take a vacation during a recent state budget impasse.  The governor characterized the state media as “vile,” “useless” and “inaccurate” in reporting the story.

State media reported the governor’s plans based off sources throughout state government, including Republican Senate President Michael Thibodeau and Sen. Roger Katz, whom both said on the record that LePage told them he was planning to leave the state.

LePage replied through a spokesman the story was “fake news.”

In an interview with WGAN-AM Thursday, LePage stated:

“I just love to sit in my office and make up ways so they’ll write these stupid stories, because they are just so stupid.  It’s awful.”

LePage later repeated his disdain for the press, saying “the sooner the print press goes away, the better society will be.”

Survey Finds Republicans Trust Trump, Democrats Trust CNN

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

A new survey released by SurveyMonkey suggests that 89% of Republicans see President Donald Trump as more trustworthy as CNN, while 91% of Democrats hold the opposite opinion.  Independent voters are more split, with 55% choosing CNN, compared to the 40% that trust Trump more.

While the survey also shows that 64% of all adults disapprove of Trump’s use of Twitter, Jon Cohen, senior vice president of survey research at SurveyMonkey, said that:

“A red flag for Democrats continues to be a perception that Trump is isolating himself from the GOP base with his tweets.  Not only do most Republicans approve of his use of Twitter, but asked to describe those tweets, the No. 1 mention among the GOP is ‘truthful,’ with ‘entertaining’ in second place.”

Survey results also noted a danger for Republicans remaining content ignoring media outlets not frequented by their base.  Fully one-third of Republican respondents said they only get their news from Fox News.  Cohen explained further that:

“…the biggest danger for Republicans is that they grow content with firing up the base: Fully three-quarters of pure independents (those that don’t lean one way or the other) disapprove of Trump’s tweeting, and their top three descriptions for it are ‘undignified,’ ‘mean,’ and ‘dishonest.’”

SurveyMonkey conducted their poll online between June 29 and July 3, with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percent.  4,965 adults participated in the survey.

Press Invited, Disinvited From First Trump Re-Election Fundraiser

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Old Post Office Pavilion in Washington, D.C. in 2012, the site of the Trump Hotel. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Only hours of announcing the media would be permitted to cover President Donald Trump’s first fundraiser for his re-election campaign in 2020, the White House reversed itself and closed the event to the media.

Deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders emailed reporters stating that “unfortunately there was some confusion with the [Republican National Committee] and due to the logistical challenges bringing in the press at this late moment is not going to be possible.”
The event was originally listed as closed press, but Sanders announced after inquiries from reporters that a small press pool would be allowed to cover the President’s remarks.

Within two hours, the event was again closed to press. There was no explanation from the White House on the reversal, nor an explanation of what logistical challenges were present in hosting the media.

Former President Barack Obama had allowed members of the media to cover his remarks during fundraisers for himself or other candidates, although cameras were generally banned. In some cases, Obama would hold fundraising events entirely off limits to the press. In those situations, he was not delivering formal remarks, but instead taking questions from donors. These discussions with donors were always closed to reporters.

Former President George W. Bush also allowed the media to cover portions of his first re-election fundraiser.