The White House is suspending the press pass for Brian Karem, Playboy‘s White House correspondent and a CNN analyst, after a viral confrontation he had with a former Trump adviser last month.
“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 Friday evening.
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
The email from White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham cited Karem’s confrontation with former White House staffer Sebastian Gorka following President Trump’s July 11 social media summit in the Rose Garden, according to CNN’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter.
Karem said the audience, which were mainly right-wing provocateurs and social media influencers, a “group of people that are eager for demonic possession.” After Gorka began shouting at him, Karem was caught on video, saying, “We can go outside and have a long conversation.”
Gorka got in Karem’s face and shouted, “You’re a punk! You’re not a journalist! You’re a punk!” before walking away.
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 (@Uncle_Jimbo) July 11, 2019
Last November, CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta faced a similar fate. His press pass was revoked after an altercation during a press conference with the president. His press pass was ultimately reinstated after the network filed a lawsuit and a judge said that the reporter had not been afforded due process.
Karem, who said he would appeal the suspension, is being represented by Theodore Boutrous Jr., the same lawyer who fought for Acosta in his press pass dispute.
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
Suspension of credentialed press by the government is incredibly concerning. We are working with our lawyers to appeal the decision to suspend @briankarem. Since 1953, Playboy has fought to protect First Amendment rights, and the fight must continue today.
cc: @BoutrousTed
— Playboy (@Playboy) August 3, 2019
Meanwhile, Gorka thanked Trump for the suspension of Karem’s press pass.
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
He also tweeted, “Don’t be sad Brian. You’re still a punk.”
Don’t be sad Brian.
You’re still a punk. pic.twitter.com/mOKStruVTa
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) August 3, 2019
Karem has had a number of high-profile combative exchanges with members of the Trump administration. Back in 2017, Karem gained made headlines after going on a tirade during a White House briefing led by then-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“You’re inflaming everybody right here and right now with those words,” he argued. “This administration has done that as well. Why in the name of heavens — any one of us, right, are replaceable, and any one of us, if we don’t get it right, the audience has the opportunity to turn the channel or not read us. You have been elected to serve for four years at least. There’s no option other than that. We’re here to ask you questions, you’re here to provide the answers, and what you just did is inflammatory to people all over the country who look at it and say, see, once again, the President is right and everybody else out here is fake media. And everybody in this room is only trying to do their job.”
Back in 1990, he was sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to give up the names of sources that helped him attain an interview with a man suspected of murdering a police officer, according to the New York Times.
