The New York Post’s Steven Nelson grilled White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about an alleged blacklist for press events biased against certain media outlets in a press conference Thursday.
“For more than a year now the White House press office has been having … press events in the state room, state dining room, the executive office building,” Nelson said. “There’s a process where people are selected and able to go into these presidential events where the president often takes questions.” (RELATED: Karine Flips Through Binder For 20 Seconds Before Saying She Has ‘No Update’ On Baby Formula Shortage)
“The correspondence association has tried in vain to figure out how this process works,” Nelson continued, “and overtime it has kind of morphed into a kind of black list where certain large media outlets such as my own are—,”
Jean-Pierre then cut off Nelson, asking, “Blacklist?”
“I’m just saying I represent the fourth largest newspaper in the country and I haven’t been selected since November,” Nelson responded.
.@NYPost‘s @StevenNelson10 calls out the esoteric & secretive selection process for how the White House press offices picks & chooses which reporters are allowed to attend White House events, leading to “a blacklist where certain large media outlets, such as my own” are kept out pic.twitter.com/oHnOdrgoEZ
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 16, 2022
“That’s a jump forward to a black list,” Jean-Pierre said. “But I’m listening.”
Nelson then claimed that his was not the only media outlet that seemed to be unfairly barred from these events.
“Oh ok, well, I didn’t know that,” Jean-Pierre responded.
Mentioning that the White House Correspondence Association wants the way the selection process is administered to be “done away with,” Nelson asked, “I was hoping—I know you’re new in this position—but you could perhaps explain how the selection works?”
“I actually don’t know the process that you’re speaking of,” Jean-Pierre responded. “Blacklisting is a very strong word to use. We try to make sure, to do our best to make sure that press gets to hear from the president directly. It is important for us. It is important for you all. It is important for the American people.”
Jean-Pierre then mentioned that she and the president of the Correspondents Association, Steve Portnoy, were talking either that day or the next and she was, “sure he would bring it up,” in their conversation.