The White House Correspondents’ Association is facing calls from hundreds of former and retired journalists and eight press freedom organizations to take a strong stance defending press freedom at its rescheduled annual dinner, which President Donald Trump has said he will attend.
The dinner was originally scheduled for April but was cut short when a gunman opened fire at the Washington Hilton. Prosecutors say the shooter was attempting to assassinate Trump. The event has been rescheduled for this week at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, with enhanced security measures in place.
The letter, coordinated by former ABC News correspondent Lisa Stark and producer Ian Cameron, argues that media freedom concerns have intensified since April. The correspondents point to recent Justice Department subpoenas targeting New York Times journalists who reported on security issues surrounding the president’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One aircraft. According to the letter, the subpoenas extended to relatives of reporters, including one journalist’s mother and two spouses.
The signatories also reference Trump’s statements about potentially revoking broadcast licenses for networks that do not comply with his demands. The letter calls on the association’s president, Weijia Jiang, to use the platform to condemn what the groups characterize as attacks on First Amendment freedoms. The eight organizations signing the letter include the Society of Professional Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the National Association of Black Journalists, among others, along with approximately 520 individual journalists, many of whom also signed a similar letter in April.
Trump has indicated he plans to attend the dinner and characterized the decision to proceed as demonstrating “Strength and Fortitude.” He has not yet confirmed whether he will deliver the remarks he originally prepared for the April event, which media observers anticipated would include criticism of press coverage.
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