Trump suspends CNN analyst's references for another attempt against the press

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The Trump administration fired another shot in its war with the US press, suspending the powers of Brian Karem, White House correspondent for Playboy and analyst for CNN.

The 30-day revocation was announced Friday and echoes the highly controversial actions taken against CNN's Jim Acosta in November 2018.

Acosta, a frequent irritation of Trump, saw his withdrawn pass after the administration claimed that he had used an inappropriate force to withstand a trainee's attempts to him. take a microphone at a press conference given by the president.

Karem suspended his pass after an altercation with Trump's former advisor, Sebastian Gorka, in the White House Rose Garden in July, about Trump's "social media summit", which was attended by some of his most ardent supporters. Both men were criticized for their behavior.

In a letter to the White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, Karem's lawyer, Ted Boutrous, who also represented Acosta, called the decision "arbitrary and unfair" and claimed that the White House had not spoken to a single witness seen on video "mocking and / or threatening Mr. Karem".

Boutrous asserted that the White House's decision "violates the first amendment and due process and is yet another example of this government's unconstitutional campaign to punish journalists and the press coverage that President Trump do not like ".

He added: "The president and his administration maintain an atmosphere of hostility and violence towards journalists and can not be tolerated. They illegally use the process of verification of credentials to impede press freedom and disrupt the flow of vital information to the American people. "

In response, also posted by law firm Boutson, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Grisham described Karem's behavior as "inappropriate" and repeated what he had said to Gorka: "Hey brother, we can talk at any time or go outside and have a long conversation. . "

In response, Gorka shouted to Karem, "You're a punk! You are not a journalist! You are a punk! "

Grisham proposed a seven-point justification for removing Karem's "pass" – which gives journalists access to White House press meetings, which are in fact rarely organized by the administration.

"The conduct of Mr. Karem," she said, "taken as a whole, was unacceptable and disturbing and called for an answer to ensure that it does not happen again."

In a pair of tweets early Saturday, Karem askedQ: By what right does a person who does not have decorum have the right to dictate the decorum of the press? To anyone

"Q: What legal authority does the WH press secretary have to regulate the free press? To anyone. "

In a statement on Saturday, Jonathan Karl, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, said the group was "deeply concerned" because "such a move could be a deterrent to working journalists."

In the Acosta case, a federal judge, Timothy Kelly, concluded that the White House's complaint about his behavior was "presumably inaccurate" and ruled in favor of the journalist, ordering the White House to restore his card.

The former White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said in her response that "there was no absolute first amendment to access the White House".

"We will also further develop the rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future," said Sanders, insisting on the following point: "There must be decorum at the White House. "

Grisem's lengthy explanation of the punishment inflicted on Karem and the delay in implementing his ban after the incident in question suggests that the White House hopes that this ban will not be canceled due to a lack of due process.

Earlier this year, Acosta published a book titled "The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Moment to Tell the Truth in America" about his experiences with Trump.

Karem became a CNN contributor in September 2017shortly after he ran into Sanders during a briefing at the White House.

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