White House Reportedly Demands Politico Retract Articles and Apologize To Trump – Or Else

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The White House is demanding that Politico retract or amend three recent stories it published about palace intrigue, Axios reported on Wednesday.

“The White House counsel’s office warned Politico in a Monday letter that it had 48 hours to retract or correct recent stories about alleged staff drama, or it would suffer unspecified consequences,” the outlet stated. The deadline reportedly expires on Thursday.

President Donald Trump has banned Politico, CNN, and  MS NOW from the Oval Office and Air Force One, alleging that their coverage is biased against him. In a letter to Politico, White House Counsel Will Scharf escalated the administration’s war on the press by citing three stories about White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, one of which was a story claiming that Wiles arranged for former Press Secretary Katie Zacharia to be grilled by Sean Hannity on Fox News last week:

1) 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.”

2) 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.”

3) 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.

Fox News has denied Politico’s story about Wiles and Zacharia. On Wednesday evening, Politico added a correction to that story.

“CORRECTION: 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,” the outlet said. “POLITICO’s follow-up reporting indicates she did not play a direct role in setting up the interview.”

In the letter to Politico, Scharf wrote that “freedom of the press is not a professional exemption from accountability. I therefore demand that Politico immediately correct or retract these publications, issue a prominent and public apology to the President of the United States and to Ms. Wiles, and remove the false reporting from your digital archives.”

Failure to comply, Scharf said, would prompt the White House to conduct an “immediate review of Politico’s relationship with the White House, and, of course, consideration of all other appropriate and available legal remedies.”

Earlier on Wednesday, CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that the White House left CNN off the list of pool coverage for Trump’s trip to South Carolina, in violation of a judge’s order.

In a statement, Fox News said Wiles and Trump adviser Danielle Alvarez had “nothing to do” with the Zacharia interview.

“Sean Hannity decides who he interviews and what he asks his guests, period,” the network said in a statement. “That’s been true for three decades, through several administrations, and that authenticity is why he’s been number one for nearly 30 years. Susie Wiles and Danielle Alvarez had nothing to do with the booking.”

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