When Jim Acosta’s White House press pass was suspended in 2018, following an incident wherein he assaulted a female White House staffer, the mainstream media rallied with outrage. They uniformly defended Acosta’s right to harass and abuse a US president and hijack a press conference.
But the liberal mainstream press is giving cover to the Biden Administration yet again. They are virtually silent on the purge of 442 reporters who have lost hard passes after the White House changed requirements.
In May of 2023, The Gateway Pundit reported on the new rules.
In 2018, CNN sued to have Acosta’s pass restored under President Trump, but today they are silent.
Acosta even thanked his colleagues for rallying around him when a federal judge ultimately ruled that the Trump White House had to restore his hard press pass.
“Let’s go back to work.”
CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta thanks colleagues, judge following decision ordering White House to immediately restore his press pass. https://t.co/dt6f0Awwoe pic.twitter.com/Vfj3SbinN6
— ABC News (@ABC) November 16, 2018
Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa, Simon Ateba, shared the letter he received, threatening to pull his press pass, with details of the new rules.
Ateba posted the full letter on Twitter:
BREAKING: Following @washingtonpost hit piece meant to prevent me from renewing my hard pass, the @WhiteHouse and @PressSec office just sent me ‘A WARNING LETTER.” Here it is:
Mr. Ateba,
We strongly support the important role that members of the press play in covering the White… pic.twitter.com/7EbS9HDpIW
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) July 11, 2023
The Daily Signal reports that, over the past three months, “the number of reporters with access to the White House dropped by 31%. There are now 442 fewer reporters with a coveted ‘hard pass’—the result of new rules announced in May that took effect Tuesday.”
The White House announced new rules in May to limit the number of journalists who are eligible for a White House hard pass. Reporters are still allowed to apply for a day pass, but they must do so daily and undergo Secret Service review.
Up until this week, the White House didn’t disclose the number of reporters who had a hard pass. Politico reported, “Within the past three months, the number of hard pass holders dropped from 1,417 to 975, with those approved reflecting a mix of renewals and new applications.”
Last day in the White House with a functioning press pass, thanks to the new access policy, at least for now. pic.twitter.com/KtRuKVWejs
— Fred Lucas (@FredLucasWH) July 31, 2023
This story originally appeared on TheGateWayPundit
