Washington DC [US], September 20 (ANI): What began as a routine entry through the White House security checkpoint turned into a dramatic moment for CNN reporter Betsy Klein on Saturday (local time), when her press credentials failed to grant her access and a Secret Service agent told her that her badge had been deactivated.
Klein described the encounter live on CNN, recounting how she arrived at the White House expecting to go through the same security process she had followed before, only to find herself stopped at the checkpoint.
“I go through a checkpoint with the Secret Service. I show them my hard pass, and I walk past,” she said, as she continued recounting how she placed her belongings through what appeared to be an airport-style security conveyor belt before approaching a badge reader.
“I put my stuff through essentially what looks like an airport security conveyor belt, and I tap my badge onto a card reader. I type in a four-digit PIN. I did all of that today. The only difference was there was a group of cameras waiting outside the gate, watching me walk in,” Klein said.
But when Klein reached the access point and attempted to use her credentials, the process changed.
“I walk in, I tap my badge, it beeps a couple of times and turns red, blue, and green, and it didn’t accept my PIN number. The Secret Service agent on the guard [post] asked to see my badge, and he told me that it had been deactivated,” she added.
Klein, speaking to CNN’s Kasie Hunt on Saturday, said she then sought an explanation from the agent.
“I asked him if he could provide an explanation as to why it had been deactivated,” Klein recounted.
“He said he had no further information. I asked him once more if he had any more details he could share with me, and he said that I should be referred to the White House Press Office,” she added.
Klein said she also asked whether she could retain her physical press badge.
“When I asked if I could get the badge back, he said he would be keeping it,” she said.
The encounter came a day after President Donald Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, accusing the three news organisations of repeatedly publishing what he called “fake news.”
The decision immediately raised questions over how the ban would be implemented, particularly for journalists whose work routinely requires access to the White House complex.
Those questions began to receive an answer on Saturday morning, when journalists from the affected organisations returned to the White House and encountered varying outcomes at the security gates.
According to CNN, MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner described a similar experience to Klein’s, saying an officer asked her to surrender her badge.
“Officer asked me to hand over my badge. He said that it was disabled. I asked why I was not able to get inside. He said it was above him,” she said.
Gardner said her photographer colleague was also denied entry. However, she said an MS NOW producer was able to enter after scanning a badge that still worked.
The differing experiences at the checkpoint added another layer to an already unusual morning at the White House, as crews from CNN and MS NOW reported from outside the perimeter while photographers documented the scene and tourists looked on.
The restrictions followed Trump’s Friday announcement on Truth Social that the three outlets were being barred from the White House “effective immediately.”
“I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them “alive.” Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant “reporting” FAKE NEWS!” the post read.
Trump added that media organisations should not be able to publish what he described as false information about him or his administration and warned that other outlets could face similar action.
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow,” he added.
According to CNN, the announcement caught some White House staffers, including members of the press operation, off guard.
A source familiar with the matter told Klein that staffers were left scrambling to understand the details of the decision.
For journalists leaving the White House grounds on Friday, one immediate question was whether their credentials would continue to work when they returned.
Klein’s experience the following morning provided a stark answer in her case.
The White House Correspondents’ Association also criticised the decision.
WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich said in a statement posted on X that revoking access for journalists from CNN, POLITICO and MS NOW violated the First Amendment.
“Today’s action revoking access for journalists from CNN, POLITICO, and MSNOW violates the First Amendment. The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future. The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinise those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favourably. That’s why courts have repeatedly held that once the White House provides access to journalists, it cannot deny that access arbitrarily or based on the content of their reporting. The WHCA calls on the administration to immediately restore our colleagues’ access,” the statement read.
CNN, meanwhile, said it would continue its coverage of the US government despite the restrictions.
“CNN’s mission to report on the U.S. government will continue regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings or any other attempts to impede our journalism. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right,” the CNN statement read.
For Klein, the consequences of the announcement were no longer a question of what might happen to White House access.
They had become tangible at the security gate — in the form of a badge that no longer worked, a Secret Service agent holding onto her credentials and a direction to seek answers from the White House Press Office.
As journalists from the affected organisations continued reporting from outside the White House perimeter, the confrontation over access moved from a policy announcement on social media to a visible test of how the new restrictions would operate in practice. (ANI)
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