(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Biden White House has unleashed a new policy regarding reporters and hard passes, effectively leading to the ousting of prominent reporters who constantly push back against government talking points.
Citing adherence to professional conduct, the White House warned that it is observing restrictions “on access to areas of the White House or credentialed event” and is now demanding that all reporters renew their passes.
Several outlets, however, have warned that the process to reapply for the press pass could be denied or delayed extensively. Among the reporters affected by the revised policy is Fred Lucas, a renowned journalist with the Daily Signal, the news division of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.
The Signal reported that the White House is demanding that reporters seek “accreditation by a press gallery in either the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, or Supreme Court.” The outlet warned, however, that it does not have a press credential to cover either the Congress or Supreme Court and it is unclear whether Lucas will be approved.
Lucas decried the White House’s draconian policy update in statements to the Washington Examiner. “I have covered the Obama and the Trump administrations and have not seen a press purge like this, and it should be concerning to anyone when an administration attempts to select who can and can’t cover it,” Lucas said.
Lucas, who has had a press pass since 2019, slammed the lack of transparency by the Biden White House. “Under the new policy, there is zero transparency from the White House as to how many journalists are losing their hard passes,” Lucas added. “Moreover, the administration has never articulated a justification for purging media they deem non-compliant.”
According to the Washington Examiner, Simon Ateba, the White House correspondent for Today News Africa, is also facing potential expulsion from the White House. Ateba is most notably known for his constant clashes with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on multiple occasions. Ateba has accused the White House of sabotaging him by refusing to take his questions.
During the Trump era, some journalists sued the White House after being ousted, leading to court rulings that ultimately granted them their press passes back.
It is unclear whether the Heritage Foundation or Today News Africa will sue the Biden administration over their new apparent crackdown of outlets that push back against them. Ateba voiced his intent to sue the Washington Post over a partisan media hit against him.
“I will take the Washington Post to court if they fail to retract their character assassination against me,” Ateba told Fox News in reference to a July 8 article headlined, “Simon Ateba, the reporting making himself the story at the White House.”
