The White House Correspondents’ Association has expressed strong condemnation towards the White House’s decision to bar The Wall Street Journal from accompanying President Trump on his upcoming trip to Scotland. The exclusion comes amidst a dispute over the newspaper’s coverage of Trump’s connections to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, The Wall Street Journal has been denied access due to its “fake and defamatory conduct.” This decision marks the latest instance of the Trump administration taking actions to limit media access based on their reporting.
The controversy stems from a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, which claimed that Trump had sent a “bawdy” letter to Epstein in 2003 on the occasion of his 50th birthday. Trump has since denied these allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper and its owners, seeking $20 billion in damages.
The White House Correspondents’ Association has condemned this move as “deeply troubling,” highlighting concerns about government retaliation against press outlets based on the content of their reporting. The Association’s president, Weijia Jiang, called for the restoration of The Wall Street Journal’s access and emphasized the importance of an independent media in upholding free speech.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has taken measures to limit media access. In February, the White House began excluding the Associated Press from news events over its continued use of the term “Gulf of Mexico” instead of the Trump-renamed “Gulf of America.”
The decision to bar The Wall Street Journal comes at a time when there is increasing pressure on the Trump administration to disclose more information about the government’s investigations into Epstein. This pressure is particularly strong among supporters of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign, who believe in a conspiracy involving powerful elites in Epstein-related sex crimes. Despite acknowledging his acquaintance with Epstein, Trump claims they had not been in contact for over 15 years following a “falling out.”
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/22/trump-administration-bars-wall-street-journal-from-trip-amid-epstein-spate?traffic_source=rss
