Trump blasted Acosta, telling CNN they should be ashamed for employing him. Acosta and CNN didn’t apologize but falsely claimed that Acosta had not laid a hand on the intern, a claim that was rebutted by video footage recorded at the White House press conference.
On Wednesday night, video footage showed Secret Service taking away Acosta’s press pass.
Acosta recorded the footage.
Denial of Video Evidence
CNN, The New York Times, and multiple other agencies falsely claimed that Acosta had not touched the White House aide, even in the face of video evidence.Sarah Saunders, the press secretary, announced the suspension of Acosta’s pass due to his “placing his hands” on the female aide.
“President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern,” she said in a statement.
“This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporter’s colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. As a result of today’s incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.”
After CNN and other agencies made the false claims, Sanders included video footage of Acosta pushing the aide’s arm down.
GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who was in attendance at the press conference, later wrote on Twitter, “We all value a free press, but it’s unfortunate that some reporters seem more interested in getting their own cable show than doing their jobs. The media grandstanding has gone overboard.”
