The White House decided not to hold a press briefing on Friday, but instead held an off-camera session that excluded news organizations who have written about the Trump/Russia scandal or intelligence community leaks.
Journalists broke the news that the White House was excluding outlets from the briefing:
So, WH @PressSec is not holding a press briefing today, instead is holding an off-camera gaggle, and is excluding many major outlets.
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) February 24, 2017
Video from the White House briefing room:
Scene in the WH briefing room as reporters try to sort out who gained entry into private Sean Spicer gaggle. pic.twitter.com/gpU053WwZz
— Alex Mallin (@alex_mallin) February 24, 2017
Here was the scene as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer turned away reporters from some of the nation’s biggest news organizations:
Scene in the White House briefing room as reporters got turned away from the gaggle in Spicer's office. pic.twitter.com/UvIW7rbGzx
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) February 24, 2017
Not surprisingly Breitbart was let into the off-camera briefing:
Scene in the White House briefing room as reporters got turned away from the gaggle in Spicer's office. pic.twitter.com/UvIW7rbGzx
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) February 24, 2017
The White House allowed friendly conservative media in, but not the New York Times, CNN, Politico, Buzzfeed, and LA Times:
Breitbart, OANN, Washington Times are all in White House briefing. CNN and NY Times (and LA Times) not allowed in.
— Noah Bierman (@Noahbierman) February 24, 2017
Just in: @CNN @nytimes @Politico & others blocked from attending White House gaggle with @PressSec. WH has so far offered no explanation
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) February 24, 2017
The message being sent by the White House is clear. If a news organization tells the truth about what is going on in the Trump administration, they will be punished.
It is not a coincidence that the same organizations who were not allowed to attend the briefing had their reporting referenced by Trump during his rant against the press at CPAC on Friday morning.
President Trump is trying to suppress information and keep the American people in the dark. Trump doesn’t want the American people to be informed about the activities of his administration.
What the White House hasn’t considered is that the media can retaliate by not covering Trump’s rallies and publicity stunts. President Trump has escalated his war with the media, and the American people must demand that the free press is allowed to report the truth about what their government is doing without punishment or reprisal from the President.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
