On Friday afternoon, the White House suspended the press credentials of Brian Karem, senior White House reporter for Playboy and a CNN contributor, after he seemingly tried to start a fight with Seb Gorka, former deputy assistant to President Donald Trump. Playboy announced it had retained legal counsel to fight the suspension, hiring the same lawyer who got CNN’s Jim Acosta reinstated.
“Received an email today shortly before 5 p.m. from the WH: as of Monday afternoon my press pass is suspended for 30 days,” Karem tweeted. “Yes. I can and will appeal this decision.”
Received an email today shortly before 5 p.m. from the WH: as of Monday afternoon my press pass is suspended for 30 days.
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) August 2, 2019
CNN’s Brian Stelter added more information, explaining that the White House letter specifically mentioned Karem’s behavior in the Rose Garden on July 11 — the tussle with Gorka. After Trump’s office suspended Acosta’s hard pass (which gives a journalist access to the White House), a judge last fall ruled that a hard pass cannot be suspended without due process. The warning Karem received is a “preliminary decision,” which gives Karem a few days to submit a response.
The tussle with Gorka came at the White House social media summit last month. News coverage originally focused on Gorka, but PJ Media’s Nicholas Ballasy captured video showing Karem’s attack on attendees, calling them “eager for demonic possession.” Jim Hanson showed the moments before Gorka confronted Karem — the CNN contributor had said, “Come on over and talk with me, brother. We can go outside and have a long conversation,” with menacing body language.
After the #SocialMediaSummit @realDonaldTrump invited the conservative influencers to the Rose Garden for his press conf
We got the nice seats & I guess "journalist" @BrianKarem was sad
He tried to pick a fight w/ @SebGorka & then thought betterMy $$$ was on Seb as I note pic.twitter.com/yXfJfOKaZT
— Jim Hanson (@JimHansonDC) July 11, 2019
“Playboy and [Brian Karem] have retained [Ted Boutrous] in this dispute with the White House. Boutrous successfully represented CNN and [Jim Acosta] in last fall’s court fight,” Stelter announced on Twitter.
Playboy and @BrianKarem have retained @BoutrousTed in this dispute with the White House. Boutrous successfully represented CNN and @Acosta in last fall's court fight.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 3, 2019
Gorka thanked Trump and Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham for suspending Karem’s hard pass. “Thank you [Donald Trump], thank you [Stephanie Grisham]. On behalf of American who’ve had enough of Fake News pundits like [Brian Karem],” he tweeted.
Thank you @realDonaldTrump, thank you @PressSec.
On behalf of Americans who’ve had enough of FakeNews punks like @BrianKarem. pic.twitter.com/7ErFXqBdW1
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) August 3, 2019
“Don’t be sad, Brian,” Gorka added, echoing the Rose Garden crowd before Karem taunted him.
As for the hard pass, Gorka gave him some advice. “Don’t be a punk and you may get it back. Maybe not. PUNK,” he added.
Don’t be a punk and you may get it back.
Maybe not.
PUNK. https://t.co/TUbbSgSjUN
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) August 3, 2019
Gorka did not respond to PJ Media’s request for comment about Playboy retaining a lawyer. This story will be updated with any response.
Hey @SebGorka, I'm writing about @BrianKarem for @PJMedia_com. How do you respond to the news that @Playboy has retained a lawyer? Is incitement to a brawl a protected journalistic activity?
— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) August 3, 2019
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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