OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
An African reporter who tussled recently with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is taking the issue to another level, according to reports on Saturday.
Simon Ateba, Today News Africa’s White House reporter, plans to take legal action against Jean-Pierre over claims that she discriminated against him during press conferences.
In addition, Ateba said he plans on taking action against the White House Correspondents Association for allegedly banning him, “since they made false claims against me and my company and did not abide by their own membership guidelines.”
I have decided to take legal action against the White House Correspondents Association @whca since they made false claims against me and my company and did not abide by their own membership guidelines. From now on, I will let my lawyer talk about the case but I will fight like… https://t.co/cWrbFjMr7Z pic.twitter.com/sEnzaKDHh3
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 4, 2023
“I will fight like hell because as they sit in the briefing room collecting salaries, they don’t know there are people like me who build companies from scratch. Pray for me,” he wrote.
“I have also decided to take legal action against President Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for discrimination against me in the White House. My lawyer will be the one to also talk about this case here or when we appear on television to discuss the case,” Ateba noted in another tweet on Friday.
I have also decided to take legal action against President Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for discrimination against me in the White House. My lawyer will be the one to also talk about this case here or when we appear on television to discuss the case. pic.twitter.com/PuRftasObx
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 4, 2023
His application to join the association was rejected because “the committee noted repeated instances where your behavior violated the expectations for membership outlined in our bylaws,” Ateba said WHCA Executive Director Steven Thomma wrote to him in an email.
“Today is a dark day for freedom of the press in the United States of America. The forces of evil who felt belittled have removed me from the White House Correspondents Association. The removal had the approval of one journalist called @tamarakeithNPR who is WHCA President and works for NPR funded by donors and taxpayers,” Ateba noted in a lengthy tweet. “They claimed that I do not have money and cannot be a member of WHCA. They also lied in their letter and did not follow their own membership guidelines. May God forgive them.”
Today is a dark day for freedom of the press in the United States of America. The forces of evil who felt belittled have removed me from the White House Correspondents Association. The removal had the approval of one journalist called @tamarakeithNPR who https://t.co/ku6YlLJ9km… https://t.co/6sCa9iKgeT pic.twitter.com/2grSfnbwh2
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 4, 2023
In January, he grilled KJP on President Joe Biden’s classified documents scandal, but her refusal to answer questions on the issue did not sit well with him or many others in the media. In one exchange, Ateba grew frustrated with Jean-Pierre and called out her ability to perform the job of White House press secretary.
After she refused several times to answer questions about Biden’s latest scandal, Ateba told Jean-Pierre that she was not fit for the job.
Reporter @simonateba tells WH press sec she's not fit for her job after she repeatedly fails to address Biden's classified doc debacle pic.twitter.com/scKHYsxTzw
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 24, 2023
Several members of the mainstream media, who are typically friendly to her and Democratic lawmakers, slammed her after she spent most of the week avoiding questions about Biden’s handling of sensitive documents. In fact, during a number of press briefings in January following reports about the documents, Jean-Pierre snapped at reporters who kept asking about it.
“Karine Jean-Pierre has shown that she is not qualified for this job at this level. We’ve seen that now over the last couple of months, because she keeps saying over and over again — as if she’s almost programmed, like she has no ability to think extemporaneously — that the president ‘takes these documents very seriously’,” he said, Fox News reported.
“In one press conference, she’s literally said that line 17 times. And at the same time, she talks about how transparent the administration has been with the public – while not answering questions. You’re telling me there isn’t one person that took a log of who was going in and out to see the sitting president of the United States? I have a very hard time believing that,” Concha said.
Attacked by pirates on the Gulf of Guinea with an AK47 to my head, kidnapped in Nigeria, dumped in the woods & left for dead, arrested in Cameroon during investigation & kept in dark cell only to be sidelined at the White House. This is how Tucker Carlson introduced me to America pic.twitter.com/bOLujRzKfi
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 14, 2023
Former New York federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy agreed, saying that every time the press secretary speaks, “she’s actually making [the situation] worse.”
Conservative commentator David Marcus tweeted, “This is getting to the point where reporters need to stop showing up. There’s no reason on earth she can’t comment on Biden’s public statements.”
Oregon Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz tweeted, “For an administration that touts their ‘transparency,’ they’re about as transparent as a wooden door. And I’d put my money on the door in that contest.”
