The Biden administration’s rule change on White House press credentials is an attempt to censor members of the press, according to lawmakers.
“The Biden regime will stop at nothing to silence and censor any and all political opponents,” Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., told The Daily Signal in an email Thursday. “No one is immune from Biden’s hatchet jobs, including reporters who dare report the truth.”
Gosar’s comments came in response to the news that The Daily Signal’s chief news correspondent, Fred Lucas, could soon lose his White House “hard pass” due to a policy change.
According to the new White House rule, reporters must first obtain “accreditation by a press gallery in either the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, or Supreme Court” in order to obtain or maintain their White House press credentials.
Lucas has applied for credentials for both Congress and the Supreme Court, but it’s unclear when he’ll hear whether he can obtain either, as Supreme Court press passes are very limited and conservative news outlets have struggled to obtain credentials from Congress.
Lucas has held his White House press pass for 14 years, but as of July 31, without one, he will no longer be able to easily enter the White House briefing room.
“I urge [House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.] to grant congressional press credentials to The Daily Signal to ensure their presence in the White House continues uninterrupted,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said.
“Mr. Lucas’ tenure at the White House has spanned both Democrat and Republican administrations,” Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., noted.
“Joe Biden is operating the most opaque operation in presidential history, censoring — either directly or by proxy — anybody that dares ask a difficult question, fact-check their dubious claims, or provide a thought counter to their own,” she said.
According to Hageman, the Biden administration is working to block The Daily Signal’s White House press credentials “for the crime of being conservative.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said the new policy is part of “the Biden administration’s campaign to target free speech,” adding that “If Big Tech won’t censor for them, they’ll push to kick out a conservative member of the press who has covered the past three administrations. That’s liberal logic at its peak.”
Gaetz said he thinks the “White House is changing its guidelines for maintaining press credentials because the American people are finally realizing the full extent of the Biden crime family’s corruption.”
Gaetz’s comments come the same day Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released an FBI form that includes mention of an alleged $10 million bribery scheme involving both Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden with the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings.
The official form is known as an FD-1023, and the four-page document appears to indicate that the owner of Burisma Holdings was “coerced” into paying Joe and Hunter Biden $5 million each when Biden was vice president and the younger Biden was on the company’s board.
The payment was allegedly part of a deal made between the Bidens and Burisma Holdings owner Mykola Zlochevsky to oust Ukraine Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who was investigating the company. Biden did pressure Ukraine to fire the prosecutor, but those who defend Biden claim the then-vice president wanted the prosecutor ousted because of concerns that Shokin was easy on corruption.
Lucas has reported extensively on Hunter Biden’s alleged business dealings with Burisma Holdings and on his infamous laptop.
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