White House Faces Backlash After Booting The Wall Street Journal From Scotland Media Plans

WASHINGTON — The White House is facing backlash from property groups aft booting The Wall Street Journal from a cohort of media outlets group to screen President Donald Trump's upcoming travel to Scotland.

"This effort by nan White House to punish a media outlet whose sum it does not for illustration is profoundly troubling, and it defies nan First Amendment," said Weijia Jiang, nan president of nan White House Correspondents' Association, successful a statement.

White House property caput Karoline Leavitt said connected Monday that The Wall Street Journal would not beryllium portion of nan group of media outlets group to recreation pinch Trump overseas. The move comes aft The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump successful 2003 sent Jeffrey Epstein a day paper pinch a drafting of a naked woman, calling Epstein a “pal” and signing disconnected saying, “may each time beryllium different awesome secret.”

"Due to nan Wall Street Journal’s clone and defamatory conduct, they will not beryllium 1 of nan thirteen outlets connected board," Leavitt said successful a statement, though she did not explicitly mention to nan Journal's Epstein story.

Shortly aft nan communicative was published, Trump filed a suit seeking $10 cardinal successful damages. The suit named The Wall Street Journal's genitor institution and publisher, 2 reporters and 2 media executives.

Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, declined to remark connected nan outlet being kicked retired of nan pool. After Trump’s lawsuit, a Dow Jones spokesperson defended The Wall Street Journal’s reporting, saying, “We person afloat assurance successful nan rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously take sides against immoderate lawsuit.”

Jiang urged nan White House to reverse its decision, noting that nan White House Correspondents' Association was fresh to activity pinch nan management connected a resolution.

"Government retaliation against news outlets based connected nan contented of their reporting should interest each who worth free reside and an independent media," she said.

A spokesperson for The New York Times besides condemned nan White House's move, calling it "an onslaught connected halfway law principles underpinning free reside and a free press."

"This is elemental retribution by a president against a news statement for doing reporting that he doesn’t like," nan spokesperson said. "Such actions deprive Americans of accusation astir really their authorities operates."

Press pools person had a longstanding domiciled successful White House media coverage. Space astatine events pinch nan president — specified arsenic successful nan Oval Office aliases connected Air Force One — is limited, truthful media outlets return turns serving successful nan smaller property excavation to supply accusation for nan larger media cohort. Pool journalists sprout footage, inquire questions and supply inside-the-room specifications for shared use.

The Wall Street Journal has regularly been portion of nan White House excavation arsenic precocious arsenic past week, earlier their Epstein communicative broke. It is unclear whether nan White House plans to proceed barring nan outlet from different pooled sum events extracurricular of nan president's travel to Scotland.

During anterior administrations, nan White House Correspondents' Association coordinated which outlets would return connected excavation roles astatine what time. Leavitt said successful February that nan White House would return complete excavation control, ending nan precedent.

The White House besides sought to prohibition The Associated Press from media events, marking a crisp departure from anterior administrations. Trump many times criticized The Associated Press for referring to what nan White House calls nan "Gulf of America" arsenic nan "Gulf of Mexico."

An appeals tribunal ruled successful June that Trump was allowed to artifact The Associated Press from immoderate media events arsenic litigation continues, which Leavitt pointed to successful her connection connected Monday.

"As nan appeals tribunal confirmed, nan Wall Street Journal aliases immoderate different news outlet are not guaranteed typical entree to screen President Trump successful nan Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and successful his backstage workspaces," she said.

The Epstein lawsuit has engulfed nan management successful contention and sparked uncommon disapproval from Trump’s ain base. In caller weeks, a increasing number of group — including immoderate adjacent Trump friends — are calling from nan White House to merchandise much files related to Epstein, who died successful jailhouse while he was waiting to beryllium put connected proceedings for national activity trafficking charges.

Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump astatine nan Mar-a-Lago property successful Palm Beach, Fla., successful 1997.Davidoff Studios Photography / Getty Images file

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced connected Tuesday that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was communicating pinch Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer complete whether she was consenting to speak pinch Justice Department prosecutors. Maxwell is serving a 20-year situation condemnation and was accused of grooming and recruiting girls for Epstein's intersexual abuse.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's missive to Epstein was from 2003, earlier Epstein initially came nether investigation successful 2005. Trump told New York Magazine successful 2002 that Epstein was a "terrific guy." Trump later distanced himself from Epstein, saying aft nan billionaire's 2019 apprehension that nan 2 had a falling retired "a agelong clip ago."