OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A prominent right-leaning outlet was barred from sending a correspondent to a White House event on Monday as a potential indictment looms for Hunter Biden.
The New York Post, the first outlet to publish revealing and disturbing details about the then-future first son gleaned from the hard drive of a laptop he reportedly abandoned at a computer repair shop in Delaware in 2019, was prohibited from sending a journalist to President Joe Biden’s only daytime public event.
“The Post has closely covered the president’s ties to his relatives’ foreign dealings and first reported in October 2020 on files from Hunter’s abandoned laptop that link Joe Biden to ventures in China and Ukraine,” the outlet reported.
Biden, who has falsely claimed that The Post’s reporting was Russian disinformation, held a meeting with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to discuss airline policies at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located near the White House.
The outlet added:
Biden ultimately took no shouted questions at the venue, which houses the set of a “fake” White House and about 50 theater-style seats for reporters — about 20 of which were empty Monday.
In the same room this February, Biden chose to answer The Post’s query about whether his family’s links to China compromised his ability to steer US policy. He fumed about the lack of “polite” reporters and stormed out.
As of last year, The Post had the fifth-largest print circulation in the United States. In terms of online readership, it is the nation’s second-most-read newspaper, and its news website is the fifth largest in the country (or fourth when excluding aggregator MSN), The Post noted.
Tucker Carlson Declares War On Fox News – They Won't Know What Hit Themhttps://t.co/XQ7necsxZU
— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) May 9, 2023
But The Post received an email from the White House on Monday prior to the event that said: “We are unable to accommodate your credential request to attend the Investing in Airline Accountability Remarks on 5/8. The remarks will be live-streamed and can be viewed at WH.gov. Thank you for understanding. We will let you know if a credential becomes available.”
The email does not suggest that the exclusion is related to “space limitations,” a justification previously used by the press office to explain the screening of reporters for large presidential events. In past administrations, such events were open to all journalists on the White House grounds, the outlet noted.
“In June 2022, 73 journalists representing nearly two-thirds of White House briefing room seats signed a letter demanding the end of the mysterious prescreening process for events. But the unprecedented access restrictions remained in place and press officers refuse to explain the criteria for selection even to leaders of the White House Correspondents’ Association,” The Post said.
“The criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, meanwhile, appears to be nearing its end. His legal team met with Justice Department lawyers on April 26 in Washington in what could be a final step before a charging decision,” The Post added.
On Friday, instead of taking reporter questions, the President falsely claimed he would host a “major news conference” that afternoon, which came two days after House Republicans subpoenaed the FBI for a file alleging that Joe Biden took bribes.
However, the president did not hold a news conference as promised. Instead, he sat for a Friday night interview with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, who approached investigations of the first family’s business dealings in a gentle manner.
“While there’s no ties to you, your own son could be charged by your Department of Justice … how will that impact your presidency?” Ruhle asked.
Biden replied, “It will not because he has done nothing wrong. And I’m proud of him.”
Last week, reports noted that a key business associate of Hunter Biden has been cooperating with House Republicans as they continue to investigate him and his father regarding business deals with members of the Biden family and foreign entities.
