One of the big media crusades during the Trump administration was the battle over the ‘hard passes’ for misbehaving reporters like CNN’s Jim Acosta and the correspondent for Playboy. Handing out hard passes to everyone, including Playboy, was a fundamental freedom of the press issue, and courts reinstated hard passes for reporters who had them suspended.
The Biden administration just got done purging over 400 hard passes (yes, including Simon Ateba, as well as various conservative outlets like the Daily Signal), and the media and civil rights types have nothing say.
Over the past three months, the number of reporters with access to the White House dropped by 31%. There are now 442 fewer reporters with a coveted “hard pass”—the result of new rules announced in May that took effect Tuesday.
Up until this week, the White House didn’t disclose the number of reporters who had a hard pass. Politico reported, “Within the past three months, the number of hard pass holders dropped from 1,417 to 975, with those approved reflecting a mix of renewals and new applications.”
According to the Biden administration, this mass purge of hard pass holders was a “thoughtful and thorough process that preserves robust media access to campus for everyone who needs it”.
According to the media, there is the distinct sound of crickets. Freedom of the Press doesn’t apply under Biden.
Article posted with permission from Daniel Greenfield
