Playboy senior White House reporter Brian Karem has filed suit against the White House to restore his press credentials, which were suspended last Friday.
Karem was involved in a tense confrontation with conservative commentator Sebastian Gorka after President Trump hosted a social media summit on July 11. Karem referred to the mostly conservative social media personalities gathered in the Rose Garden as a “group of people that are eager for demonic possession.” Karem then taunted Gorka, winking at him and offering him a chance to “go outside and have a long conversation.”
Gorka responded to Karem, saying, “You’re a punk! You’re not a journalist! You’re a punk!” As he approached him with cameras watching, Karem shouted back, “Go home, Gorka!” The two men separated before the situation became physical.
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
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham announced Aug. 2 that they would be suspending Karem’s White House press access for 30 days because of his behavior at the social media summit. A letter from Grisham to Karem detailed the reason for the suspension as a failure to abide by guidelines for professional decorum and respect while reporting on events at the White House.
Karem responded by announcing that he would be seeking legal action against the White House to regain his press access. “Just received word from the WH – finalized my hard pass suspension for 30 days – according to their letter – part of it because they think I do a bad Rodney Dangerfield impersonation,” Karem said in a tweet. “We will now go to court and sue.”
Just received word from the WH – finalized my hard pass suspension for 30 days – according to their letter – part of it because they think I do a bad Rodney Dangerfield impersonation. We will now go to court and sue. @BoutrousTed @realDonaldTrump
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) August 16, 2019
Karem and his attorney followed through with their intent on Tuesday, filing suit in the District Court of Washington, D.C. “Today we filed a lawsuit against President Trump and Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham asking the federal district court in Washington, D.C. to order the immediate restoration of the press credentials of @BrianKarem and to enjoin the ongoing violation of his First and Fifth Amendment rights,” a tweet from Karem’s attorney Ted Boutrous said. “We are confident that the Administration’s latest punitive and lawless action against a journalist will not stand, and we look forward to our day in court.”
to enjoin the ongoing violation of his First and Fifth Amendment rights. We are confident that the Administration’s latest punitive and lawless action against a journalist will not stand, and we look forward to our day in court.” 3/3
— Ted Boutrous (@BoutrousTed) August 20, 2019
