White House strikes back at AP, takes over press pool coverage from reporter group
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President Trump walks to the Residence on Feb. 22 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images
The Trump White House is trying to short-circuit the Associated Press' lawsuit against it by altering decades-old protocols over which news outlets can access the president at meetings and events when space is limited.
Why it matters: For the first time in a century, the White House — not the independent White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) — will determine which news outlets are part of the press pool, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday.
- The AP has long been a traditional fixture in the Oval Office and on Air Force One. The wire service sued Leavitt and other top officials last week after their reporters were banned from those areas over the AP's decision to use "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America." The WHCA led a friend of the court brief in support of AP.
- The move "suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president," Eugene Daniels, president of the WHCA and Politico reporter, said in a statement.
Driving the news: "Moving forward, the White House Press Pool will be determined by the White House Press Team," Leavitt said at a briefing.
- "Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join ... but we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets, who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility," she added.
Daniels said the White House move "tears at the independence of a free press in the United States."
- "In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps."
Zoom in: The White House said in a court filing Monday that news organizations' access to the president is not "a constitutional right."
- Since AP mentioned its role in the press pool 52 times in its initial 18-page lawsuit, the White House decided to take over the function of picking the outlets in it, one White House adviser told Axios.
- "The AP and the White House Correspondents Association wanted to f--k around. Now it's finding out time," per the adviser.
State of play: Every day, including holidays and weekends, more than a dozen reporters from news organizations across Washington, participate in the White House press pool, sending real-time updates and quotes on any movements or quotes from the president at events.
- The in-town travel pool includes wire reporters, photographers and reporters from radio and network outlets, per the WHCA.
Zoom out: The White House print press pool is a group of over 30 news organizations — including Axios — that act as the "eyes and ears of the full press corps," due to space constraints in the Oval Office and any other locations the president might go, per the WHCA.
- The WHCA board is responsible for membership in the print pool.
- The print pool rotation is "open to US print outlets that regularly cover the White House, have the proper credentials, and demonstrate a commitment to the beat and to journalistic standards," per the WHCA.
Between the lines: The White House press pool has been present at some of the biggest events in U.S. history, such as in the motorcade when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, ensuring that the public receives timely, accurate information on the president.
Go deeper: White House: AP has no right to access Trump in Oval Office or Air Force One
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional comment.
