Following the revocation of CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s “hard pass” into the White House after contentious and unacceptable behavior at a news conference, CNN filed suit against the Trump administration claiming violations of the First and Fifth Amendments. A federal judge heard arguments in the case Friday and, though he didn’t address the First Amendment claim, he did rule that the White House needed a sort of “due process” in place to revoke press credentials, and ordered Acosta’s “hard pass” restored.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders discussed the ruling and in an appearance on Fox News on Friday night, where she said that if reporters like Acosta “can’t be adults,” networks like CNN should send other representatives.
Speaking with her father — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who was guest hosting for Sean Hannity — Sanders seemed to suggest that Acosta had been behaving like a spoiled child as she explained that the basic minimum standard for reporters going forward should be to act like an adult.
A matter of due process
Asked about what sort of new protocol would be implemented for reporters following the judge’s ruling, Sanders first laid out the basic framework of what the White House expected of members of the media.
“We support a free press, but freedom of the press doesn’t mean freedom to be disruptive, freedom to be rude, freedom to interrupt and impede the ability of the colleagues of the disruptive reporter from actually being able to do their jobs, as well as White House staff being able to do theirs,” Sanders said.
The press secretary revealed that a letter had been sent to CNN that laid out the “missteps” made by Acosta at the post-midterms news conference. She also said that the judge’s ruling actually confirmed that the White House has the right to get rid of disruptive journalists, provided they are afforded due process.
“The judge, I think, was actually very clear that the White House has the ability to say, ‘You can’t come in,'” Sanders said. “Freedom of the press doesn’t mean freedom into the White House… He said there has to be due process, so that’s what we are doing and we’ll see what happens from there.”
If reporters “can’t be adults,” send someone who can
After some discussion about the total number of “hard passes” held by CNN reporters — at least 50, among the most of any other news network — and how it was “laughable” for CNN to try and claim its freedom of the press had been violated, particularly in light of the president’s incredible amount of accessibility to the media, the conversation then turned to opening up future White House briefings to other journalists and outlets not typically seen in the White House press pool.
The interview circled back to when the new protocol for reporters might be implemented — most likely following the Thanksgiving holiday break.
“But I think there are some standard practices,” Sanders said. “The very basic minimum is that if certain reporters — like Jim Acosta — can’t be adults, then CNN needs to send somebody in there who can be.”
Asked about if Acosta’s microphone-hogging behavior had irritated other White House reporters, Sanders replied with a chuckle: “I’m not [going to] speak for any of the other reporters, I’ll leave that to them. But certainly, privately, a number of them have expressed their displeasure with the fact of his grandstanding and the position that he often puts a lot of them in, and it certainly is not something they want to celebrate nor defend.”
[show_poll poll_id=1051]
Jim Acosta has shown on numerous occasions that he struggles with behaving like an adult while at the White House, making opinionated statements instead of asking questions, hogging the microphone at the expense of other reporters, and throwing temper tantrums when he doesn’t get his way.
The White House absolutely should put some ground rules in place that will either compel reporters to behave themselves or be processed out of the press pool so someone else who will behave themselves can be given a chance to cover the White House from the inside.
851 Responses
Say, you got a nice article post.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
Very good blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
I value the article. Really Cool.
I gotta favorite this web site it seems handy handy
Great paintings! This is the kind of information that are supposed to be shared around the internet. Shame on Google for not positioning this put up upper! Come on over and visit my website . Thanks =)
Im thankful for the article.Thanks Again. Will read on…
Thanks-a-mundo for the article.Thanks Again. Will read on…
I have not checked in here for some time because I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are great quality so I guess I¡¦ll add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
Major thankies for the article.Thanks Again.
Thank you ever so for you article.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and in depth information you present. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information. Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
A big thank you for your article post.Much thanks again.
We stumbled over here different web page and thought I might as well check things out. I like what I see so now i’m following you. Look forward to looking over your web page again.
Looking forward to reading more. Great post. Really Great.
My spouse and I stumbled over here by a different web address and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward to checking out your web page again.
fantastic issues altogether, you simply gained a new reader. What could you suggest in regards to your publish that you made some days in the past? Any sure?
Hey, thanks for the blog post.Really thank you! Want more.
I cannot thank you enough for the blog.Thanks Again. Really Cool.
Very informative blog.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
Appreciate you sharing, great article.Much thanks again. Will read on…
Its really a great and useful piece of information. Im glad that you simply shared this useful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for every other great post. Where else could anybody get that kind of information in such an ideal manner of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I’m at the search for such info.
fantastic issues altogether, you just received a logo new reader. What might you suggest in regards to your post that you just made a few days in the past? Any certain?
Thank you for your article post.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
I really enjoy the post.Much thanks again. Cool.
I keep listening to the news bulletin speak about receiving boundless online grant applications so I have been looking around for the most excellent site to get one. Could you advise me please, where could i acquire some?
Looking forward to reading more. Great post.Much thanks again. Awesome.
Great, thanks for sharing this post. Cool.
I will immediately grab your rss feed as I can not in finding your e-mail subscription hyperlink or newsletter service. Do you have any? Please let me understand in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.
Excellent website. Lots of useful information here. Im sending it to a few pals ans additionally sharing in delicious. And obviously, thanks in your sweat!
I have been checking out many of your articles and i can state pretty good stuff. I will definitely bookmark your website.
Thanks a lot for the post.Thanks Again.
you’re really a good webmaster. The website loading speed is amazing. It seems that you are doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece. you’ve done a great job on this topic!
I truly appreciate this post.Much thanks again. Will read on…
Thanks for the blog article.Much thanks again. Awesome.
Great website you have here but I was curious about if you knew of any forums that cover the same topics talked about here? I’d really love to be a part of online community where I can get advice from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Cheers!
I cannot thank you enough for the blog.Really thank you! Much obliged.
Very neat article post.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
Say, you got a nice blog article.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
I think this is a real great article post. Great.