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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Notable Replies

  1. My first reaction was that I don’t have a dog in this fight.

    But insulting Seb Gorka? That deserves a commendation!

  2. Somehow there’s a joke in there with Playboy and “hard” pass. All the elements are there. Put it together yourself.

  3. Avatar for paulw paulw says:

    What was Gorka’s status at this event? Was he a gate-crasher? Does he just wander on and off white house grounds whenever he wants, despite no longer being employed there?

  4. Karem didn’t insult Gorka directly. Karem loudly stated that the group of right wing media people gathered at the White House, of which Gorka was one, were a “group of people that are eager for demonic possession.".

    I can’t argue with his “general summing up”.

  5. Designated Nazi of the Day.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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