The White House Correspondents’ Association is being criticized by White House Counsel’s Office spokesperson Ian Sams following claims of distorted media coverage of special counsel Robert Hur’s report that described President Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”
In a tense exchange, the administration accused certain media entities of promoting inaccuracies regarding the contents of the report, which examines allegations that Mr. Biden mishandled classified documents. Mr. Sams lauded aspects of the report that absolved the president of any deliberate wrongdoing, but criticized its portrayal of Mr. Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
“When significant errors occur in coverage, such as essentially misstating the findings and conclusions of a federal investigation of the sitting president, it is critical that they be addressed,” Mr. Sams wrote to the journalists’ group.
A letter from Mr. Sams to Correspondents’ Association President Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News, along with other members, insisted that certain media coverage has misrepresented Mr. Hur’s investigative conclusions, leading to a false narrative. He said the coverage has precipitated misinformed questions in the White House briefing room, with reporters allegedly incorporating erroneous information in their questions.
Ms. O’Donnell called Mr. Sams’ letter “misdirected” and wrote in response, “It is inappropriate for the White House to utilize internal pool distribution channels, primarily for logistics and the rapid sharing of need-to-know information, to disseminate generalized critiques of news coverage. We will not distribute them going forward.”
“As a non-profit organization that advocates for its members in their efforts to cover the presidency, the WHCA does not, cannot and will not serve as a repository for the government’s views of what’s in the news,” Ms. O’Donnell wrote. “The White House has far reach to make its positions known on the Hur report or any other matter.”
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