The White House Correspondents' Association reported on Wednesday that its board has voted to remove a news outlet from the seat rotation for press briefings. Multiple White House reporters confirmed that the outlet in question was One America News Network.
"As you are all aware, the WHCA issued a policy last month to restrict seating in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room to comply with CDC guidelines on social distancing," the association said in a note to members. "Under this policy, we have asked reporters who don't have a seat not to attend press briefings. We appreciate all your cooperation as we do our part to ensure the safety of the White House press corps and White House staff during this difficult time."
It continued: "We are writing to inform you that the WHCA Board has voted this evening to remove a news outlet fro the rotation for a seat in the briefing room. We did this because a reporter for this outlet twice attended press briefings in contravention of this policy."
The association added that it does "not take this action lightly," saying: "This is a matter of public safety."
OANN is an excessively pro-Trump outlet. In recent days, Trump has repeatedly gone to its reporters during press briefings for questions that are, without fail, complete softballs meant to bolster the president. Often, they take shots at other media outlets or the president's perceived enemies.
The White House Correspondents' Association has voted to remove One America News Network from White House briefing seat rotation after multiple violations of social distancing policy amid coronavirus outbreak.
Note: OANN is fast becoming Trump's favorite network to call on. pic.twitter.com/CZV3fHf9X3
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 1, 2020
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