White House restricts WSJ access to Trump over Epstein story
The Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case has threatened to split the Republican's far-right Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, with some of his supporters calling for a full release of the so-called "Epstein Files."
The punishment of the Wall Street Journal marks at least the second time the Trump administration has moved to exclude a major news outlet from the press pool over its reporting, having barred Associated Press journalists from multiple key events since February.
"As the appeals court confirmed, The Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces," said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
"Due to The Wall Street Journal's fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board (Air Force One)."
Trump departs this weekend for Scotland, where he owns two golf resorts and will meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice, under Trump-appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi, said there was no evidence suggesting disgraced financier Epstein had kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures before his death in 2019.
In its story on Thursday, the WSJ reported that Trump had written a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein in 2003, illustrated with a naked woman and alluding to a shared "secret."
Epstein, a longtime friend of Trump and multiple other high-profile men, was found hanging dead in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.
The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Trump's far-right voters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy pedophiles.
Epstein's death -- declared a suicide -- before he could face trial supercharged that narrative.
Since returning to power in January, Trump has moved to increase control over the press covering the White House.
In February, the Oval Office stripped the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) of its nearly century-old authority to oversee which outlets have access to certain restricted presidential events, with Trump saying that he was now "calling the shots" on media access.
In a statement, the WHCA president urged the White House to "restore" the Journal to the pool.
"This attempt by the White House to punish a media outlet whose coverage it does not like is deeply troubling, and it defies the First Amendment," said WHCA President Weijia Jiang.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
39 minutes ago
- France 24
Feeding babies in Gaza: Palestinian mothers out of resources
02:02 31/07/2025 Israel: Reactions to Germany's shift on recognising a Palestinian state 31/07/2025 Germany: Process to recognise Palestine state "must begin now" 31/07/2025 War in Gaza: Washington's support for Israel is dividing the MAGA camp 31/07/2025 Arab nations call on Hamas to disarm and relinquish control of Gaza Middle East 31/07/2025 Trump's tariff policies: US consumers face price hikes 31/07/2025 Russian air strikes pound Kyiv, 6-year-old boy among dead, Zelensky says Europe 31/07/2025 Los Angeles: Some undocumented migrants scared to leave homes 31/07/2025 Trump announces 25% tariff on India and unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil 31/07/2025 Ukraine's parliament to consider restoring power of anti-graft agencies
LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
'Europe's ability to defend its interests, already questionable, is now seriously in doubt'
The announcement of a deal between the European Union and the United States has shaken up what looked set to be a quiet summer. The official confirmation that Europeans would meekly accept a 15% tariff on their exports to the US is, without doubt, striking. However, beyond the heated debate in France, which is known neither for its subtlety nor its benevolence toward the EU or the US, any definitive judgment seems premature. First of all, what do we actually know? As with all trade agreements from the Trump administration – fond of dramatic announcements – we can, for now, only rely on the words of the leaders. For details, we must wait for the publication of a jointly approved text, something this administration no longer guarantees. Incidentally, this will likely only be a political agreement on unilateral actions by each partner, not a trade agreement in the strict sense of the term. So it will not be subject to the usual approval and enforcement mechanisms. Scope still to be defined The main element of the agreement is that Europeans will accept 15% tariffs on all of their €532 billion in exports to the US in 2024, relinquishing retaliatory measures that this blatant breach of international law would have allowed them to take. That tariff rate will be the one currently applied, not an increase as in the case of the United Kingdom (+10%). While this may seem modest compared to the average pre-Trump tariff rate of about 3.5%, many sensitive products already faced tariffs between 5% and 15%, especially in the agricultural sector, which lessens the scale of the EU's concessions. Furthermore, vehicles, which have faced 27.5% tariffs since April, would, in practice, see a specific reduction for EU-made products. Exemptions also apply. Under a zero-for-zero framework, the entire aerospace and minerals sectors, as well as "certain" chemical, pharmaceutical, agricultural (including spirits) and semiconductor products would see their tariffs lifted. Depending on the final scope, which remains to be defined, this would affect 10% to 20% of EU exports to the US.
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
Moscow is 'stuck in another century,' Ukraine's president says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the confiscation of Russian assets and said the leadership in Moscow is "mentally stuck in another century" as officials and politicians gathered in the Finnish capital for the Helsinki+50 conference. Moscow is still living in a time of "brutal violence disregard for human rights and equality,' Zelenskyy said. He added: "We know that such ideas and such times must never return to Europe" via video-link at the meeting marking the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Accords. The Helsinki Accords, singed in 1975, were a set of agreements focused on principles of international cooperation, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in domestic affairs. The agreements — signed between 35 countries including the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War — laid the groundwork for the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). "It's time to confiscate Russian assets, not just freeze them, confiscate them, and use them to serve peace, not war," the Ukrainian leader said. His comments come a day after a large overnight Russian missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv killed six, including a six-year-old boy and injured at least 52 people. Zelenskyy's Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb called on European countries to choose between "spheres of interests and the use of force, or the sovereignty of states and common rules and principles." He touched on the legacy of the Helsinki agreement, telling the conference: "Even though the world has changed significantly in 50 years, the same rules still apply to basic human interaction." He added, "The best solutions can be found through dialogue and listening to one another." During his speech, Zelenskyy thanked US President Donald Trump for his efforts to broker a ceasefire deal. "President Trump is truly interested in ending the war and we have to do everything we can to make sure the United States and Europe act together for security," the Ukrainian leader said. On Tuesday, Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin's failure to agree on a truce. He announced he would reduce a 50-day deadline he previously set for Moscow to agree to peace in Ukraine to a new limit of 10 to 12 days.
