Politico Responds to White House Retraction Ultimatum: Corrects One Story, Refuses to Apologize
Washington — The confrontation between the White House and Politico escalated on October 22. According to Fox News Digital's reporting that day, White House counsel Will Scharf wrote this week to Politico global editor-in-chief Jonathan Greenberger, calling three stories about White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles demonstrably false and defamatory, and demanding that Politico retract or correct them within 48 hours, issue a public apology to President Trump and to Wiles, and remove the reporting from its digital archives; failure to do so, the letter said, would prompt an immediate review of Politico's relationship with the White House and consideration of all other appropriate and available legal remedies. The letter was first reported by Axios.
The three stories cited include a report that Trump was considering replacing Wiles, an account that the White House had a freakout over that reporting, and a story suggesting Wiles helped arrange then-press secretary Katie Zacharia's appearance on Fox News' Hannity. Scharf wrote that Politico was told the truth and presented with corroborating evidence, and yet chose to publish fanciful fiction regardless.
Politico responded on Wednesday, October 21, saying that after re-examining all three articles and doing follow-up reporting, it had determined it was appropriate to correct one of them: Wiles simply offered positive reinforcement for Zacharia's Hannity appearance but did not play a direct role in booking the interview. Politico did not offer an apology to Trump and Wiles, and did not correct the report that Trump was considering moving on from Wiles. Politico's attorney wrote that the White House's retaliation is unconstitutional retaliation and discrimination against Politico for its constitutionally protected journalism, and that Politico will defend its journalism. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Background: Politico, CNN and MS NOW were banned by the White House last month. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction on October 14 restoring the three outlets' White House access, and the Trump administration has appealed the decision.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：白宫 James S. Brady 新闻简报室，记者在简报前就座等候。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，作者 Kellerbn。
