Reporter Group Says It Can't Ensure Accuracy Of White House Dispatches After Trump Takeover

The Trump administration's takeover has compromised the integrity of pool reports, the White House Correspondents' Association president said.

In a note to members Wednesday, the White House Correspondents’ Association president warned that the Trump administration’s new system for working with reporters has compromised the integrity of its dispatches.

The email to the pool of reporters covering the White House from WHCA president Eugene Daniels comes a day after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration would now pick and choose which reporters follow the president each day, taking over the duty historically relegated to the WHCA and making room for non-legacy media outlets.

“As the White House is controlling the process, the WHCA cannot ensure that the reports filed by government-selected poolers will be held to the same standards that we have had in place for decades,” said Daniels, a reporter at Politico.

The WHCA listserv, he added, is “no longer the place to send your pool notes and pool reports,” and outlets must decide on their own whether they’ll participate in the Trump-appointed pools.

For decades, the WHCA has determined the rotation of journalists who fill spots dedicated for radio, television, print and wire service reporters. As part of that system, reporters following the president that day send out a “pool report” to other members.