A member of the White House press corps has initiated legal action against White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the Secret Service, alleging that they unfairly revoked his press credentials. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, African journalist Simon Ateba argues that the White House’s policy for revoking press access violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. The Biden administration introduced new rules in May, allowing for the revocation of press credentials for the first time.
The lawsuit states, “Defendants violated Mr. Ateba’s First Amendment rights by intentionally changing the criteria for hard pass credentials to prevent him from obtaining access. They did so by adopting credentialing criteria specifically designed to exclude him from eligibility. This type of discrimination constitutes a content-based regulation and viewpoint discrimination, which violates the First Amendment.”
The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Ateba’s press pass expired on July 31, and he has been unable to renew it. Currently, there are 975 reporters with White House hard passes, which allow journalists to freely enter and exit the White House briefing room and press area. Reporters without hard passes must contact the White House to obtain a day pass for a specific date.
Ateba, who works for Today News Africa, has been involved in several incidents in the briefing room. He confronted Jean-Pierre during a briefing on March 20 when the White House was hosting the cast of “Ted Lasso.” Ateba’s main complaint at that time was that he had not been given an opportunity to ask a question in seven months. He has consistently claimed that the White House has discriminated against him and other reporters.
“This is not China. This is not Russia. What you are doing is making a mockery of the First Amendment,” Ateba stated during the incident.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news stories. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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