The White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) has announced that it is expelling One America News network (OAN) from the briefing room following a report that its correspondent gained access by circumventing the process and attending as a “guest” of White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.

In a statement, the WHCA explained that it has limited access to the room in order to comply with social distancing guidelines, and that the available seats are rotated between various outlets. But the WHCA says OAN’s correspondent twice showed up despite it not being their turn.

“We did this because a reporter for this outlet twice attended press briefings in contravention of this policy,” the statement said.

WHCA Statement on Removing News Organization from News Briefing Seat Rotation pic.twitter.com/KL3XcPq7Rt

— WHCA (@whca) April 1, 2020

The L.A. Times reported Wednesday that OAN’s Chanel Rion was in the briefing room Tuesday despite it not being OAN’s turn. When asked to leave by a member of the WHCA, Rion refused, saying that she was there as a guest of press secretary Stephanie Grisham. An accredited member of the press gaining access in this way is considered to be a severe ethical breach. Rion was again present at Wednesday’s session, standing in the back of the room. She was called on for questions by President Donald Trump several times.

Rion and her OAN colleague Jenn Pellegrino have come under fire for their questions during the briefings, which critics deride as softballs designed to prop up the president. On March 19, Rion was ridiculed for asking: “Do you consider the use of the term ‘Chinese food’ racist? Because it’s food that originates in China and has roots in China? And on that note. Major left-wing news media, even in this room, have teamed up with Chinese Communist Party narratives, and they are claiming that you are racist for making these claims about Chinese virus. Is it alarming that major media players, just to oppose you, are consistently siding with foreign state propaganda, Islamic state radicalism, Latin gangs and cartels? And they work right here at the White House with direct access to you and your team.”

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/3aEF76O