White House bans NY Post from Biden speech as case against Hunter heats up

In an email sent to the outlet on Monday, the White House press office said: “We are unable to accommodate your credential request to attend the Investing in Airline Accountability Remarks on 5/8. The remarks will be live-streamed and can be viewed at WH.gov. Thank you for understanding. We will let you know if a credential becomes available.”

According to the outlet, it has the fifth-largest news website by US readership and is the country’s second-most-read newspaper online, as well as the fifth-largest print circulation.

The email did not claim that the exclusion is due to “space limitations” which has been used in the past as an excuse to justify the administration’s prescreening of reporters into large presidential events, which under previous administrations were open to all journalists on White House grounds.

73 journalists representing nearly two-thirds of White House briefing room seats signed a letter In June 2022, demanding an end to the prescreening process for events. However, the restrictions have remained in place and no explanations have been given by Biden administration members as to the selection criteria, even to the leadership of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

The Post first reported in October 2020 on files from Hunter’s abandoned laptop that link Joe Biden to his son’s ventures in China and Ukraine. Biden falsely characterized The Post’s reporting as Russian disinformation.

In February, after Biden answered a question from one of The Post’s reporters about whether his family’s links to China compromised his ability to steer US policy, he stormed out of the room fuming about the lack of “polite” reporters.

Meanwhile, the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden could be concluded soon, as his legal team met with lawyers from the Department of Justice last month in Washington, which could be the final step before a charging decision.

Biden declined to take reporter questions on Friday and claimed he would host a “major news conference” that afternoon. This was a mere two days after House Republicans subpoenaed the FBI for a file that a whistleblower said alleged that Joe Biden took bribes.

Instead of the presser, Biden sat for an interview that evening with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, who asked, “While there’s no ties to you, your own son could be charged by your Department of Justice … how will that impact your presidency?”

Biden responded, “It will not because he has done nothing wrong. And I’m proud of him,” despite significant ties between Biden and his son’s business dealings suggested by the contents of the laptop.

Last week, the White House released a new set of rules for press badges, stating that the recipient must act in a "professional manner" in order to keep their badge. The move came after Today News Africa reporter Simon Ateba grilled Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and during the interaction told her, "You don't seem a good fit for this job."

According to the New York Post, the White House on Friday closed a longstanding legal loophole that had prevented authorities from stripping reporters of press badges.

The White House did not respond to questions from the Post about the exclusion of the outlet. At least two other reporters were initially barred, but the White House press office eventually relented and let one of them in.