The White House has removed The Wall Street Journal from the press pool covering US President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to Scotland, citing its "fake and defamatory" reporting about Trump’s connection to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The move on Monday follows a Journal report last week that claimed Trump wrote a lewd birthday letter to Epstein on his 50th birthday.
The White House has denied the report and said Trump is suing the newspaper over its contents.
"As the appeals court confirmed, The Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Monday.
"Thirteen diverse outlets will participate in the press pool to cover the president’s trip to Scotland. Due to The Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board," she said.
Leavitt added that "every news organisation in the entire world wishes to cover President Trump," and that the White House has taken steps to include "as many voices as possible."
Politico first reported the Journal’s removal.
Retaliation
According to the outlet, Journal reporter Tarini Parti was set to be the print pooler for the first two days of the trip.
Traditionally, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) oversees pool assignments, but the Trump administration took over that process shortly after taking office.
WHCA President Weijia Jiang sharply criticised the decision, calling it "deeply troubling" and an attack on press freedom.
"Government retaliation against news outlets based on the content of their reporting should concern all who value free speech and an independent media," Jiang said in a statement.
"We strongly urge the White House to restore The Wall Street Journal to its previous position in the pool and aboard Air Force One," she added.
The Journal’s report added new layers to the public scrutiny of Trump’s past connections to Epstein.
The Justice Department recently concluded Epstein died by suicide in 2019 and said there was no client list—despite previous statements by Attorney General Pam Bondi suggesting otherwise.
That announcement has caused backlash within Trump’s MAGA base, where calls have grown for full disclosure of government documents related to Epstein.
