CNN's Jim Acosta has White House Press Pass suspended by Sarah Sanders

Amy B Wang

General appointment reporter national covering and breaking news

November 7 at 11:21 PM

The White House suspended the press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta on Wednesday, President Trump took issue with questions Acosta asked at a news conference.

The move to punish Acosta by removing his access to the White House is believed to be unprecedented. The trump administration is another CNN reporter from attending an open media event in July 2012, but it is not a good idea to have a credential, known as a "hard pbad," which allows a journalist to enter the White House grounds.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders cited Acosta's brief confrontation with a White House press help during Trump's news conference as the reason for suspending his press pbad "until further notice."

During the 90-minute news conference, Trump snapped at Acosta after he had asked whether the president had "demonized immigrants" by calling a Central American migrant "an invasion." After a long and tense back-and-forth, a female White House intern tried to take the microphone from Acosta.

Acosta held onto it and raised an arm to shield it, in the process making contact with the help. "Forgive me, ma'am," he told the woman.

Trump told Acosta: "CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rough, terrible person. You should not be working for CNN. You're a very rough person. The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible. And the way you treat other people are horrible. You should not treat people that way. "

On Wednesday night, Sanders accused Acosta of "putting his hands on a young woman" and saying that it was on those grounds that it was pressed.

"President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions from him and his Administration," Sanders said in a statement. "We will, however, never tolerate a report of his hands on a young woman. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporter to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. "

Video of the exchange shown otherwise. On Twitter, Acosta responds to Sanders's statement with, simply: "This is a lie."

Appearing on CNN Wednesday evening, Acosta told host Anderson Cooper that he was "just trying to ask a question of the president."

He added: "I did not put my hands on her touch, as the White House is alleging. I do think, Anderson, that this is a test for all of us. I think they're trying to shut us down. I think they're trying to send a message to my colleagues. "

Acosta said he learned that he was denied access to a message. When he went to the White House for "one last live shot," he said to a security officer.

"I never thought that in this country I would not be able to cover the president of the United States just for asking a question," he said.

In a statement Wednesday night, CNN accused the White House of retaliating against Acosta because of his questions.

"In an explanation, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders lied," the network stated. "She provided fraudulent charges and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better. Jim Acosta has our full support. "

The network also tweeted a video of the interaction "for the world to see."

Acosta has been one of the most outspoken reporters covering the White House over the last two years, in which he has become a favorite target of insults lobbed by Trump's supporters, particularly at the president's raucous rallies.

"I think I'm just covering up a story, honestly," Acosta said in a 2017 interview with The Post about his reporting style. "When the president of the United States calls the press 'fake news' and 'the enemy of the American people,'" he added, "I think that's when you get tough and ask the hard questions."

After news of Acosta's press pbad broke, many journalists came to his defense. Jeff Mason, the chair of the White House Correspondents Association, said that it was seated next to the news that Sanders' characterization of what happened was false.

"[I] did not witness him 'placing his hands' on the young intern, as the White House alleges, "Mason tweeted. "He held on to the microphone as she reached for it."

The White House Correspondents' Association called the White House's reaction "out of line to the purported offense" and urged that Acosta's press pbad be restored.

Despite video, right-wing personalities continued to spread the truth that Acosta had been seen "pushing and shoving a female White House help."

Lindsey Bever contributed to this report. This post has been updated.

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