A reporter from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), who published an exclusive report highlighting the close relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019), has been excluded from the White House foreign press pool, it has been confirmed.
Caroline Levitt, White House Press Secretary, stated in a statement to the political news outlet Politico on the 21st (local time), "Neither WSJ nor any other news organization is guaranteed special access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, or the President's private workspaces." She added, "Due to WSJ's false and defamatory actions, they will not be among the 13 media outlets allowed to board Air Force One."
Levitt further commented, "Every media outlet in the world wants to cover President Trump, and the White House has taken significant steps to include as many voices as possible."
This means that the WSJ's White House correspondent will be excluded from the press pool covering President Trump's upcoming visit to Scotland, scheduled for July 25-29.
Close coverage of President Trump is typically conducted by a small "pool" of reporters selected by the White House, with their reports then shared with other media outlets. The WSJ correspondent had been scheduled to be part of this pool for the final two days of the Scotland trip but has now been removed from the list. In particular, the "false and defamatory actions" referenced by Levitt appear to refer to the WSJ's exclusive report published on July 17.
The WSJ reported that, in 2003, President Trump sent Epstein a letter for his 50th birthday that included a playful and obscene drawing. Following the publication of this report, President Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the two journalists, the publisher, the parent company, and Rupert Murdoch, the founder of the parent company.
The decision to exclude the WSJ reporter from the pool appears to be closely related to President Trump's dissatisfaction with the outlet. Previously, President Trump had publicly rebuked the WSJ, calling its report that Treasury Secretary Scott Besant had advised him against firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell "a typical lie."
The controversies surrounding Epstein have recently become a hot topic in U.S. politics, posing a difficult issue for President Trump. These controversies include rumors that President Trump was listed as a client in Epstein's "sex trafficking client list," which was allegedly compiled by Epstein, a billionaire hedge fund manager who died in prison in 2019, as well as conspiracy theories suggesting that Epstein's death was a homicide.
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