President Trump’s new press secretary dropped the hammer on CNN’s Brian Karem, and officially suspended his press pass.
Brian Karem will appeal or sue, but his actions when he got into it with Sebastian Gorka in the Rose Garden were a bridge too far.
“Mr. Karem’s conduct, taken as a whole, was unacceptable and disruptive, and requires a response to ensure that it does not happen again,” said Stephanie Grisham, announcing the move.
Stephanie Grisham claimed that her range of potential responses included “permanently revoking his hard pass, providing a written warning, and taking no action.”
But Grisham said Karem’s behavior while bad did not warrant a permanent ban, “permanent revocation would be too great a punishment…Taking no action, on the other hand, would be insufficient.”
CNN sure wasn’t happy with the news and their lawyers are sure to be preparing a response.
“It’s official: In a letter to Playboy correspondent and CNN political analyst Brian Karem’s lawyer on Friday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said she had “made a final determination” to suspend Karem’s hard pass for 30 days.” CNN reported.
The White House move will be “effective immediately” and end on Saturday, September 14, 2019.
The move was very expected. The White house first notified Karem about a “preliminary decision” on August 2nd. He then had the opportunity to appeal, which he did. What’s notable is that Grisham appears to be following a process slightly different than the one used against Jim Acosta.
When the White House revoked Jim Acosta’s pass, it was without any warning. As a result, when CNN went to court, a key argument was that the move had violated the reporters’s due process rights. In this case, the White House Press Secretary appeared to have followed a system set up late last year after the Acosta legal battle which allowed for at least some due process.
