BS BULLETIN:
- CNN reporter Betsy Klein lost her White House credential Saturday after President Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
- CNN now says the office of first lady Melania Trump has approved Klein to cover one of her events at the United Nations.
- The unusual workaround comes as CNN and the other banned outlets sue the Trump administration over their loss of White House access.
CNN may be banned from the Trump White House.
Apparently nobody told Melania Trump’s office that means every door is closed.
CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter reported Monday that senior White House reporter Betsy Klein has received approval from the first lady’s office to cover a Melania Trump event on the sidelines of the United Nations on Tuesday.
“We’re going to see reporters get creative,” Stelter said while discussing the ban on CNN.
He then revealed that one CNN reporter had already found another route into an administration event.
According to Stelter, Klein “has already been approved by the office of the First Lady” to cover Melania Trump’s U.N. event.
That would be the same Betsy Klein whose White House credential was deactivated just two days earlier.
Klein arrived for work at the White House Saturday and said a Secret Service agent informed her that her badge had been deactivated. The agent kept the badge and directed her to the White House press office for further information.
President Trump had announced the previous day that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over coverage he described as “FAKE NEWS.”
On Monday, the dispute escalated further.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit seeking restoration of their credentials, arguing that the administration had retaliated against them because of their reporting. The White House also removed CNN from its scheduled television pool assignment for Trump’s trip to the United Nations.
The five television networks participating in the traditional White House TV pool subsequently declined to provide replacement pool coverage, leaving Trump’s U.N. trip without the customary pooled television camera.
But CNN reporters aren’t necessarily disappearing from every Trump administration event.
Stelter said he expects reporters to seek other credentials and alternative ways of covering the president and first lady while the larger White House-access dispute plays out.
“There will still be coverage of what the president and first lady are doing,” Stelter said, although not through the normal pool arrangement.
And in perhaps the strangest twist yet in this increasingly complicated media battle, the reporter who had her White House badge taken away Saturday now has approval from the first lady’s office to cover Melania on Tuesday.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Mediaite — Melania Trump’s office approves CNN reporter amid White House ban
- CNN — Betsy Klein describes having her White House badge confiscated
- CBS News — CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters denied White House access
- Mediaite — CNN, MS NOW and Politico file suit over Trump press ban
- Axios — Trump U.N. trip left without traditional TV pool camera
