A correspondent within the press corps of the White House has initiated a legal action against White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the Secret Service, asserting that they unjustly revoked his press credentials.
In his legal filing submitted on Thursday, Simon Ateba, an African journalist, contends that the White House’s protocol for withdrawing press privileges infringes upon the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. The administration of President Biden unveiled new regulations in May, introducing the concept of revoking a press badge for the first time.
The lawsuit claims, “The defendants violated Mr. Ateba’s First Amendment rights by altering the criteria for hard pass credentials with the deliberate intent of obstructing Mr. Ateba’s access to hard pass privileges.”
“By crafting credentialing criteria explicitly aimed at excluding Mr. Ateba from eligibility, the defendants have engaged in discriminatory practices that constitute regulation based on content and viewpoint discrimination against Mr. Ateba, thereby contravening the principles of the First Amendment,” it further states.
As of now, the White House has not issued a prompt response to a query seeking comment from Fox News Digital.
Ateba notes that his press credentials expired on July 31, and he has been unable to initiate the renewal process. Presently, there are 975 journalists holding White House hard passes. These hard passes enable reporters to move freely between the White House press briefing room and designated press zones.
Journalists lacking hard passes are required to make contact with the White House to secure a day pass for a specific date.
Ateba, an employee of Today News Africa, has been at the focal point of several confrontations within the briefing room. During a March 20 briefing, when the White House was hosting the renowned cast of “Ted Lasso,” the journalist directed strong criticism towards Jean-Pierre.
At that time, Ateba’s primary grievance was that he hadn’t been given the opportunity to ask a question for a span of seven months. He has consistently asserted that the White House has been discriminatory in its treatment of him and other journalists.
He vociferously stated, “This isn’t akin to China or Russia. Your actions are undermining the fundamental principles of the First Amendment.”