State Dept Correspondents Association Criticizes Pompeo Not Bringing Press on Official Trip to Brussels
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is traveling to Brussels today, and he’s being called out for traveling without members of the press.
There are no reporters allowed on the plane for this trip…with the Secretary of State. . . As he travels overseas…they said we would have to fly commercial and all the meetings are closed press. https://t.co/jP5hntwLao
— Christina Ruffini (@EenaRuffini) September 2, 2019
Heading out without even the minimal press pool. As far as we know 1st overseas trip with no reporters (need media pay their fares)
Why no press? https://t.co/2nTjFMggud— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) September 2, 2019
Per CNN, Pompeo’s trip was expected to go to Brussels after accompanying President Donald Trump to Poland, but POTUS called that trip off and “the last-minute nature of Pompeo’s trip could have accounted for the lack of press.”
State Department Correspondents’ Association president Shaun Tandon criticized the move in comments to CNN’s Oliver Darcy today, saying, “We understand that the Brussels trip was decided at the last minute and that the State Department does not anticipate open-press events on this brief visit. Nonetheless, we must make sure that this does not create a precedent and that reporters continue to be systematically present on the Secretary’s plane.”
Tandon said it’s vital for reporters to be on these trips, telling CNN, “Crises can erupt at any moment, so it is indispensable to have reporters who can quickly, thoroughly and accurately cover the decision-making of the top diplomat of the United States.
Back in March 2017, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was criticized by the SDCA and a number of press outlets for traveling to Asia without the full press pool (the only journalist who had accompanied Tillerson was then-IJR reporter Erin McPike).
