(FREEDOM X Press Release via Dr. Anthony Harper, August 21, 2023)
The White House press corp was recently advised that new restrictions on “hard pass” press credentials giving reporters daily access to press briefings and other privileges may soon be implemented. See Fox News, More than 440 reporters lose press passes after White House changes requirements (8/4/2023). This is an attempt by the least transparent administration in memory to squeeze out reporters who ask tough questions and consolidate the White House’s message around friendly members of the press.
Our client, Anthony Harper, a White House correspondent and the managing editor of InterMountain Christian News, is among those whose press credentials are at risk of being revoked. On August 9, 2023, Freedom X wrote to the White House on Anthony’s behalf demanding it explain the new restrictions. We pointed out that pulling Anthony’s credentials violates the First Amendment freedom of the press. As court precedent establishes:
“The protection afforded newsgathering under the first amendment guarantee of freedom of the press requires that [White House] access not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons. Not only newsmen and the publications for which they write, but also the public at large have an interest protected by the first amendment in assuring that restrictions on newsgathering be no more arduous than necessary, and that individual newsmen not be arbitrarily excluded from sources of information.”
Read our letter here.
To date, we have not heard back from the White House, and Anthony continues to cover news relevant to Christians and Jews from the White House.
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