Denial of Access

So far in 2019, at least 26 journalists have been denied access to government events that are traditionally open or attended by the press

Total cases	38

Department of State bars press pool from briefing call, allowing only “faith-based media”

March 25, 2019

The State Department barred the department’s press corps from a briefing call with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on March …

Ohio political reporter removed from Democratic Party mailing list, reinstated by chair

May 9, 2019

Cleveland political reporter Seth Richardson was removed from the Ohio Democratic Party press release mailing list by staff in March 2019. Richardson posted a thread on Twitter that he had apparently been “frozen out” from covering the Ohio Democratic Party, and suggested he may have been removed from the press distribution list in response to his reporting.

White House bars four print reporters from covering dinner between U.S., North Korea leaders

March 4, 2019

One day into President Trump’s diplomatic trip to Vietnam, the White House banned four U.S. journalists traveling in the press …

Unprecedented criminal complaint filed for violations of the Georgia Open Records Act

February 26, 2019

The Georgia state attorney general filed the first-ever criminal complaint in connection with the Georgia Open Records Act on Feb. …

Trump stops regular press briefings, citing unfair media treatment

January 23, 2019

President Trump revealed in a tweet on Jan. 22, that the lack of regular White House press briefings was the …

White House intern reaches for Jim Acosta's microphone

White House suspends CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials and falsely accuses him of manhandling intern

November 8, 2018

On November 7, 2018, the White House suspended CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass, banning him from setting foot on …

Iowa congressman Steve King denies at least four journalists access to election party

November 6, 2018

The congressman’s son said that campaign views the Register as “leftist propaganda”

Bill Shine, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway

White House bans CNN reporter from event for ‘inappropriate’ questions

July 26, 2018

The event was open to all members of the press — at least, all members of the press except for Kaitlan Collins.

More Incidents

How we track Denials Of Access

Denial of access to government events that are traditionally open or attended by the press and where the denial of access either deprives the public of significant information, appears to be retaliatory, or is done without meaningful justification. Concrete changes in policy or practice to restrict or deny access may also be included in this category.

Denial of access to individuals in some cases, such as where the available space limits the number of journalists allowed to attend or where individuals arguing for access do not meet reasonable standards for credentials, can be seen as meaningful justifications and will not be included.