The Trump administration has imposed additional restrictions on media representatives, denying them free access to the White House press office, Politico reports.
Previously, accredited media representatives had unhindered access to the so-called West Wing of the White House, where press office staff work. Journalists could, with the consent of the staff, freely meet with them in their offices and discuss issues of interest to them.
However, on Friday, the White House issued a memorandum signed by White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt and White House Communications Director and Assistant to the President Stephen Chung. It outlines the new rules, which take effect immediately.
Journalists will now work in only one designated room and will have to schedule meetings with press officers in advance to gain full access to the West Wing. The reason for the new regulations is cited as “recent structural changes“ in the administration's work, which mean that the White House press office now has jurisdiction over certain matters related to the National Security Council.
“While working in this area, White House press officers routinely deal with classified documents,“ the circular quoted the publication as saying.
Politico journalists believe the new rules are a continuation of the White House's efforts to limit media access to the administration's work. The White House previously denied some journalists access to classified briefings, and the Pentagon introduced new rules for accredited media, most of which rejected them and stopped using their assigned office space on the territory of the departments. Politico also notes that Trump has previously expressed the idea of a complete ban on journalists from working on the territory of the White House.
The new regulations were criticized by Vijaya Jang, head of the White House Correspondents' Association. She believes that this decision of the White House will limit the ability of journalists to ask questions of administration officials, thereby limiting transparency and accountability within the government. Conservative media outlets point out that a similar measure was introduced by the Bill Clinton administration in 1993. However, access to the West Wing for journalists was quickly restored after a wave of criticism.