White House Threatens to Strip Reporter Simon Ateba of Press Room Credentials Over Repeated Outbursts

The White House has warned reporter Simon Ateba that if he keeps up his disruptive antics in Karine Jean-Pierre’s press briefings, the result will be the loss of his entry pass.

Ateba, the owner and White House correspondent of Today News Africa, posted on Twitter that he received a letter from the White House, warning him his hard pass to the grounds might be suspended or revoked. The letter made reference to multiple instances where Ateba derailed White House press briefings by talking over his fellow reports and demanding answers to his questions.

From the letter:

The White House recognizes that members of the press often raise their voices or shout questions at press briefings or events. Ordinarily, such shouting stops when a reporter is called on for a question, and the briefing or can keep going forward.

Continuous interruptions are different; they prevent journalists from asking questions or administration officials and guests from responding. The Press Secretary’s only option in response to such disruptions is to stop the briefing or event, which is to the detriment of all journalists.

This letter serves as your written warning, pursuant to the May 5, 2023 Notice, that the behavior you exhibited on June 26, 2023 is unacceptable. If you continue to impede briefings or events by shouting over your colleagues who have been called on for a question, even after you have been asked to stop by a White House employee, then your hard pass may be suspended or revoked, following notice and an opportunity to respond.

Ateba has repeatedly wound up in conflict with Jean-Pierre and his fellow journalists because of his outbursts. As Jean-Pierre shunned his questions because of these disruptions, Ateba has claimed that the Biden administration has discriminated against him.

The Washington Post reported that the letter is a first from the Biden White House’s press office. The Post also noted that the White House put new rules into effect for the renewal of hard passes, and Ateba is “unlikely to qualify under the new criteria, which require reporters to first qualify for a congressional or Supreme Court press pass to receive one for the White House.”

At the time of this post, the White House Correspondents Association has not commented.