A credentialed White House correspondent who works as a political analyst for CNN is appearing at a ticketed fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Saturday, according to an invitation advertising the event.
The invitation touts April Ryan, listed on the invite as “a CNN political analyst and White House correspondent,” as the moderator of Buttigieg’s grassroots event featuring senior advisers Jess O’Connell and Brand Neal. Tickets to the event run as high as $500 and include $15 tickets for students and $18.35 tickets for veterans.
Ryan, a veteran credentialed White House correspondent, is also the D.C. bureau chief of the American Urban Radio Networks. Ryan did not respond to request for comment about her appearance and questions about whether she is being paid to speak at the event.
Tom Anderson, director of the National Legal and Policy Center’s Government Integrity Project, said Ryan’s appearance would likely be considered an in-kind contribution to the Buttigieg campaign, even if she is not being paid.
Steve Thomma, the executive director for the White House Correspondents Association, said the appearance did not violate the organization’s rules. “We don’t have any policy on that,” said Thomma. “We don’t regulate the work of our members.”
In its code of ethics, the Society of Professional Journalists cautions reporters to “avoid political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality, or may damage credibility.”
A White House representative did not immediately respond to request for comment. CNN responded by pointing to a tweet by Ryan saying that the Buttigieg campaign failed to make it clear that the event was a fundraiser.
Ryan has worked as a White House correspondent since 1997. On her website, she writes that she has “a unique vantage point as the only black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House” and says her “position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her unusual insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation’s last presidents.”
Ryan came under fire in August after she had her bodyguard eject a reporter who was filming her keynote speech at a conference in New Jersey.
During Ryan’s speech, her bodyguard, Joel Morris, reportedly asked New Brunswick Today Editor Charlie Kratovil to stop recording the event. After Kratovil refused, video shows Ryan nodding Morris. The bodyguard then grabbed Kratovil’s camera equipment and removed him from the room. Surveillance video in the lobby appears to show Morris pushing Kratovil out of the event.
As Kravotil was being thrown out, Ryan told the audience that she does not like “the news” recording her speeches without her approval.
Ryan later said her bodyguard “overreacted,” but the incident drew condemnation from the Society of Professional Journalists, which said it is “never under any circumstances permissible for a person aggrieved at being photographed or videotaped to lay hands on the journalist, or attempt to take away the journalist’s equipment.”
Update: Following publication of this and other reports, Ryan canceled her appearance, saying the campaign had not been clear that the event was a fundraiser.
