Politico Responds to WH Threat With Major Correction to One of Its Stories — But Argues Errors Aren’t Grounds For Censorship

Susie Wiles (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein); Katie Zacharia ((AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Politico corrected a report Wednesday evening claiming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles was involved in coordinating the interview between Fox News host Sean Hannity and then press secretary Katie Zacharia, following a threat of “consequences” from the White House.

Politico, which President Donald Trump recently tried to ban from the White House, originally reported that Wiles was behind the Zacharia interview with Hannity, which was widely seen as contributing to Zacharia’s ouster.

The report was updated and now leads with a correction saying, “An earlier version of this report, including its headline, mischaracterized the role White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played in then-press secretary Katie Zacharia’s interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. POLITICO’s follow-up reporting indicates she did not play a direct role in setting up the interview.”

Fox News emphatically denied the report ahead of Politico’s publication, telling the outlet in a statement that Hannity decides his own guests, adding, “That’s been true for three decades, through several administrations, and that authenticity is why he’s been number one for nearly 30 years. Wiles and Alvarez had nothing to do with the booking.”

On Monday, White House Counsel Will Scharf sent Politico a letter demanding a correction and an apology, adding that “all options are on the table” in terms of consequences and noted that Trump’s counsel was “uncharacteristically enraged” by the erroneous reporting.

The New York Post reported days after the original Politico report ran that Zacharia had personally pushed for the interview, citing text messages obtained by the Post as evidence.

Axios obtained Scharf’s letter and noted that it specifically called out three articles from Politico about Wiles, all of which ran with “on-the-record refutations” from the White House:

Oct. 15: In a story headlined “Trump’s ice maiden is under fire,” Politico Playbook reported that Trump was considering a replacement for Wiles. Trump called it “fake news.”

Oct. 16: Politico Playbook wrote that the prior day’s story had caused a “freakout” and that the president “blew up” over it. A White House spokesman called it “unbelievably stupid and false.

Oct. 16: In a story headlined “Susie Wiles helped set up Fox interview ahead of press secretary’s exit,” Politico insinuated the chief of staff set up Katie Zacharia to fail in a Sean Hannity interview on Fox the night before.

Politico’s lawyer Ted Boutrous replied to Scharf and defended the outlet. “POLITICO is well aware of the importance of its constitutionally protected role as a news organization committed to keeping the American people informed, and it strives for accuracy in its reporting,” the letter read, adding:

POLITICO categorically rejects the false accusations in your letter that it “chose to publish fanciful fiction” and “purposeful falsehoods designed to mislead the public.” And we note that your letter largely ignores the actual substance of POLITICO’s reporting that you purport to criticize. You complain, for example, that one of the three articles you cite purportedly disregarded “information directly contradicting” an “allegation” when, in fact, the information you refer to— denials from senior administration officials—is included in the published reporting itself.

That said, POLITICO takes seriously assertions like those made in your letter. Accordingly, consistent with its commitment to ensuring its reporting is as accurate as possible, POLITICO re- examined all three articles identified in your letter and did follow up reporting. As a result, POLITICO determined it was appropriate to correct one of the three articles identified in your letter an October 16, 2026, article concerning the role of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in a television appearance by then-White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News to say that Ms. Wiles offered “positive reinforcement” for the interview but did not play a direct role in booking the interview. The updated version of that article, reflecting the information obtained through POLITICO’s further reporting, has now been published. Promptly and transparently making corrections, as POLITICO has done here, is a hallmark of journalistic ethics and integrity, and of the very professionalism your letter falsely claims POLITICO is lacking.

The letter also addressed the recent White House ban, noting, “To be clear, any error that you could identify in POLITICO’s reporting about the President or his administration would not excuse the White House’s unconstitutional retaliation and discrimination against POLITICO for the content of its news coverage.”

“The White House’s efforts to retaliate against POLITICO for its constitutionally protected journalism, and to discriminate against POLITICO based on what the President perceives to be its editorial viewpoint is a profound affront to the most fundamental constitutional rights,” Boutrous insisted.

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