Playboy Correspondent Sues White House For Suspending His Hard Pass

Playboy magazine contributor Brian Karem (L) and former Trump deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka (2ndL) argue after the US president delivered remarks on citizenship and the census at the White House in Washington, DC,... Playboy magazine contributor Brian Karem (L) and former Trump deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka (2ndL) argue after the US president delivered remarks on citizenship and the census at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2019. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Brian Karem, Playboy magazine White House correspondent, sued President Donald Trump and Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham Tuesday for suspending his hard pass after he got into an altercation with Seb Gorka in the Rose Garden.

According to CNN, Karem maintains that he is being stripped of his right to “due process” after his pass was yanked for 30 days.

Grisham stood firm in a statement issued after the court filing.

“The purpose of a hard pass is to provide access to the White House so members of the press can report and ask questions of officials who are taking questions,” she said. “Mr. Karem did not use the access granted to him for journalistic purposes. In fact, the President had left the event. Instead, he used his press pass to insult invited guests and make comments that threatened to escalate into a physical confrontation to the point that the Secret Service intervened.”

Gorka responded poorly to a joke Karem made at a July 11 event and the conversation escalated, with Gorka calling Karem a “punk.”

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