White House Removes WSJ Reporters from Scotland Trip Pool

The White House removed Wall Street Journal reporter Tarini Parti from President Trump's press pool for his trip to Scotland following the Journal's report that Trump sent a sexually suggestive birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, which Trump denies. The president filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the newspaper and its parent company over the article. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the removal was due to the Journal's "fake and defamatory conduct," emphasizing that no news outlet is guaranteed special access to cover the president. This move sparked condemnation from the White House Correspondents' Association, whose president, CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang, called the action a violation of the First Amendment and urged the White House to reinstate the Journal's access. The White House has also previously limited access to other news organizations based on their editorial decisions, raising concerns about government retaliation against media outlets based on viewpoint. President Trump is scheduled to meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his Scotland visit to discuss a trade deal.