White House Asked by DC Circuit to Explain Press Hard Pass Rules

New Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt has been asked by a Washington federal appeals court to explain whether recent events have mooted a journalist’s quest for persistent access to the White House.

The request was made by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the case of Cameroonian journalist Simon Ateba who sued the Biden administration in August 2023, challenging new rules imposed by that administration for obtaining what’s known as a hard pass. The order asks both Ateba and the White House to explain the policy’s status, and say whether the case has been ...