For years, we’ve endured lectures from the media and the Democratic Party about how the GOP is fascist. It occurred during the Bush years but spread like COVID during the Trump presidency. It was all unearned, by the way—the lefty talking heads spewing this nonsense are no more an expert on this subject than you, the reader. Today, a Washington Post associate editor declared that Trump’s goal of shrinking the federal government by firing workers is fascism. Given what the Biden White House is doing to the press room, the Left has lost those unearned privileges.
The Daily Signal’s Fred Lucas is set to lose his hard pass at the end of the month, part of the rollout of new rules in the White House Briefing Room that many see aims to remove journalists they don’t like. The word “fascist” is often misused, and Democrats are serial offenders. However, of all the things that emanate from authoritarianism, the Biden White House ensuring the rooms are only filled with friendly faces is an action that does fit the bill of what we’re talking about here (via Daily Signal):
📢 Two weeks from now, @DailySignal chief news correspondent @FredLucasWH will lose his @WhiteHouse press credentials. 🚫🗞️
— Rob Bluey (@RobertBluey) July 18, 2023
It’s the latest—and perhaps most brazen—attempt by @JoeBiden to limit media access to what he calls “the People’s House.” 🧵 https://t.co/CIShh6TIC6
The White House Press Office will implement new rules July 31, when all “hard passes” expire.
— Rob Bluey (@RobertBluey) July 18, 2023
Lucas, holder of a hard pass since 2009, no longer will be able to easily attend press briefings or access the sprawling White House campus —as he has done for the past 14 years. pic.twitter.com/Jot9g9sLuv
Two weeks from now, The Daily Signal’s chief news correspondent, Fred Lucas, will lose his White House press credentials. It’s the latest—and perhaps most brazen—attempt by President Joe Biden to limit media access to what he regularly calls “the People’s House.”
The White House Press Office will implement new rules July 31, when all “hard passes” expire. Lucas, holder of a hard pass since 2009, no longer will be able to easily attend White House press briefings or access the sprawling Pennsylvania Avenue campus—as he has done for the past 14 years.
At issue are new rules, announced in May, that limit the number of journalists who are eligible for a White House hard pass and give Biden’s press team greater power to expel journalists it doesn’t like.
The rules require pass holders to first obtain “accreditation by a press gallery in either the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, or Supreme Court.”
[…]
Lucas isn’t the only reporter who will be left without a hard pass for the White House in two weeks. The White House won’t say exactly how many others will lose access. Officials also won’t disclose the number of hard passes currently in circulation.
Simon Ateba, the White House correspondent for Today News Africa who regularly spars with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, is among those sounding the alarm.
The new rules stipulate that reporters must work full time for “an organization whose principal business is news dissemination.” But the rules go even further by requiring reporters to act in a “professional manner,” “respecting their colleagues, White House employees, and guests,” and “not impeding events or briefings.”
[…]
The Daily Caller reported in May that the WHCA, whose purpose is to fight for access, consulted with the White House Press Office on the new rules.
An unnamed Biden official told the Daily Caller: “As we neared a final decision, we informed White House Correspondents’ Association leadership of our plans and received feedback, as a result of which we made important updates to the policy, like accommodating permalancer and journalists without a residence in D.C.”
Tamara Keith, a White House correspondent for NPR whose term as WHCA president ended Friday, told the Daily Caller at the time: “They told us they were going to do this. We pushed back where we could and did succeed at getting a few small changes. But it very much continues to be their policy and not ours.”
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Could you imagine the reaction if this happened during the Trump presidency? Oh wait, he did—yanking CNN’s Jim Acosta’s hard pass, which led to a lawsuit and, finally, the restoration of his access.
Maybe there should be legal action here, as an attorney for Brian Karem, another loudmouth that got into scuffles with Trump press secretaries and officials, is quoted calling the new rules “unduly vague.”
Supposedly, these new protocols are meant to enhance the security of the press room. That’s malarky.
Here’s a copy of the letter about the new rules on hard passes:
The following email, dated May 11, was sent by the White House Press Office outlining the new rules for hard-pass holders such as Lucas.
From: White House Press Office
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 3:46 PM
Subject: Notice to All Hard Pass Holders
Dear colleague,
We are writing to inform you that the White House intends to revise the policy on press hard passes to be consistent with that of prior administrations. Under the policy, all current press hard passes will expire on July 31. You will be able to request renewal of your current hard pass as described below, and any renewed passes will remain valid for one year, subject to annual renewal.
To renew your pass, your bureau chief/supervisor will need to email a letter to presswaves@who.eop.gov. Your news organization will not need to submit multiple letters if requesting hard passes for more than one employee as long as your letter covers all employees requesting hard pass access to the White House campus.
This letter will need to be written on the official letterhead of your news organization, including contact information for someone who can verify the details provided below, and indicate that each applicant meets the following requirements:
Full-time employment with an organization whose principal business is news dissemination (If you are freelance, we will need letters from two news organizations describing your affiliation, or, if you freelance primarily for one organization, a letter from that organization describing the extent and duration of your relationship with the organization);
Physical address (either residential or professional) in the greater Washington, D.C. area;
Have accessed the White House campus at least once during the prior six months for work, or have proof of employment within the last three months to cover the White House;
Assignment to cover (or provide technical support in covering) the White House on a regular basis;
Accreditation by a press gallery in either the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, or Supreme Court; and
Willingness to submit to any necessary investigation by the U.S. Secret Service to determine eligibility for access to the White House complex, where Secret Service will determine eligibility based on whether the applicant presents a potential risk to the safety or security of the President, the Vice President, or the White House complex.
This letter should be attached, along with a photograph or scan of a Senate, House of Representatives, or Supreme Court credential, and the completed hard pass application and submitted at one time to presswaves@who.eop.gov.
After receiving the letter from your supervisor and updating your background check, the U.S. Secret Service will grant a hard pass upon confirmation from the Press Office that you meet the above criteria. You will not need to receive a new physical pass if you already have one.
If you currently do not have a hard pass, you will need to complete the standard application and also provide the letter stated above. The Press Office will then be in touch to schedule a time to pick up your hard pass if approved.
The White House expects that all hard pass holders will act in a professional manner while on White House grounds by respecting their colleagues, White House employees, and guests; observing stated restrictions on access to areas of the White House or credentialed events; and not impeding events or briefings on campus. Absent security concerns involving the United States Secret Service or other exigent circumstances, the White House will provide a written warning to you if your conduct violates these expectations. Subsequent violations may lead to the suspension or revocation of your hard pass, following notice and an opportunity to respond.
If you have comments or questions regarding this proposed policy, please submit them to presswaves@who.eop.gov no later than May 15.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
The White House Press Office
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