The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said that the Wall Street Journal has been removed from the pool of media covering US president Donald Trump’s weekend trip to Scotland. This move came shortly after the WSJ shared an exclusive report alleging that President Trump sent a sexually suggestive message to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, on his 50th birthday.
Tarini Parti, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal assigned to the White House beat, originally allotted to report on Trump's four-day visit to his golf clubs in Turnberry and Aberdeen in Scotland, was recalled from duty.
Even though Parti had no hand in the Epstein Files callout on Trump, she was removed from the pool of journalists. Leavitt explained that earlier this year, the White House took control over the pool rotation, which was previously handled by the White House Correspondents’ Association.
Leavitt stated that, as upheld by the appeals court, the Wall Street Journal—like any other outlet—is not entitled to guaranteed access to President Trump’s appearances, including those in the Oval Office, on Air Force One, or within his private workspaces. Leavitt added, “Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board. Every news organization in the entire world wishes to cover President Trump, and the White House has taken significant steps to include as many voices as possible.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the letter allegedly included several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman drawn with a marker. The note was written in the third person as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein and reportedly ended with the line: "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret."
Trump sued the newspaper on Friday, seeking at least $10 billion in damages. Responding to the description of the letter Trump said on social media, "These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures."
The WSJ had reported that the letter was part of a compilation of greetings arranged by Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for aiding Epstein in sex trafficking minors and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
WSJ declined to comment, and the White House offered no clarity on whether it would be reinstated in the press pool.
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