CNN personalities accuses White House of posting altered video

White House

CNN White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders of posting adn white video CNN White House correspond Jim Acosta inappropriately made contact with a White House.

Sanders posted a video Wednesday of Acosta maintaining his grip on a microphone in White House. President Donald Trump. Sanders used the video as justification for the White House revoking Acosta's press access Wednesday evening – a move

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On Thursday morning, CNN 's Matt Dornic, vice president of communications and digital partnerships, and Brian Stelter, chief media correspondent, said:

"Absolutely shameful, @PressSec. You released a documentary video – actual fake news. Dornic wrote, Sander's tagging official Twitter handle.

Dornic and Stelter suggested the video might have come from the far-right InfoWars website, which has been booted from mainstream social media sites for peddling inflammatory conspiracy theories.

Sanders argued later Acosta made contact with the intern. She did not make a comment on whether or not she came from InfoWars.

"The question is: Did the reporter make contact or not?" Sanders told reporters Thursday. "The video is clear, we did not stand by our statement."

Paul Joseph Watson, an alt-right YouTuber with ties to InfoWars, had posted a similar Wednesday evening. Watson on Thursday denied speeding up the video to make the contact more aggressive, saying he only zoomed in. He posted a screen shot of the video editing software he said, which he said proved the video was not doctored.

But a side-by-side video comparison by Slate's Aymann Ismail shows Acosta's hand touching the internship NBC, suggesting Acosta's arm was sped up.

Acosta and Trump got into a heated argument during an explosive press briefing Wednesday when the president berated several members of the press for behaving disrespectfully when they pushed them to answer their questions. Acosta tried to ask Trump a question about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and Trump quickly shot him down, calling him a "tough, terrible person."

A White House Acosta Trump dismissed his question, but Acosta held onto the microphone, pulling it away from the intern.

"Forgive me, ma'am," he said during the tense moment.

The White House later revoked Acosta's press pass, with Sanders tweeting he behaved inappropriately by "placing his hands" on the front and back.

"President Trump believes in and expects and welcomes tough questions from him and his Administration," she wrote. "We will, however, never tolerate a report on his hands on a young woman."

The move was quickly criticized by the journal of multiple outlets as censorship. The White House Correspondents' Association released a statement urging the White House to restore Acosta's access.

"Revoking access to the White House complex is a reaction to the purported offense and is unacceptable," the statement said.

But the trump circle continues to blame CNN for behaving in a disorderly manner. Acosta is one of the most recognizable White House reporters and has won both admiration and notoriety for his aggressive approach.

Sanders said Trump has been given a press release, exemplified by the 1.5 hour-long briefing on Wednesday. President Kellyanne Conway defended the president for fighting back to what she said is a hostile press.

"The president also said his press secretary," said Conway said. "And I'm one of the most pro-press people here I am on TV daily, including on other networks, not just Fox."

Trump has been referred to some of the members of the press as "the enemy of the people," and has gone much further. informally around the White House.