Washington Free Beacon reporter Adam Kredo was reportedly ejected from a State Department media briefing in Vienna Monday, as senior department officials threatened to call security on him.
Kredo, who is covering the White House’s ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran, tried unsuccessfully to attend a briefing with the State Department’s undersecretary of state for political affairs Wendy Sherman.
The Free Beacon reporter, who is credentialed through the Austrian government, suggested Monday that he was kicked out of the briefing because Obama administration officials are concerned about how media may cover its alleged concessions to Iran.
Approximately 30 reporters attended the Monday briefing.
Kredo reported that State Department official Melissa Turley demanded he leave the Monday briefing. Turley noted that Kredo is not registered with American media.
When she was informed that the Free Beacon reporter had credentials through the Austrian government, Turley reportedly said, “You have a press pass from the [European Union], not from me.”
Kredo reportedly protested his ejection, prompting Turley and other State officials to threaten him with security.
The Free Beacon reporter was then told that if he had “a problem” with being booted from the event, he should take it up with State Department Correspondents Association president and Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee.
Turley later said in an email of the Free Beacon incident, “The State Dept-hosted background briefings are for reporters traveling with Secretary Kerry and those who are members of the State Dept Press Corps, who are from outlets credentialed to attend the daily press briefings in Washington, D.C.”
The Obama administration and Tehran are expected to miss the June 30 deadline to broker a nuclear deal.
Free Beacon editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
