Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the removal of an NPR correspondent from his latest trip abroad sent the “perfect message” about press freedoms.

NPR correspondent Michele Kelemen was told last week she would not be allowed to travel to Ukraine, Britain, and Central Asia with Pompeo, despite being the designated radio pool reporter. The State Department did not explain why she was removed from the trip, but it came after one of Kelemen’s colleagues clashed with Pompeo days earlier.

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