The White House officially threatened to revoke Today News Africa White House correspondent Simon Ateba’s access to the press briefing room in a letter sent Tuesday.
The letter threatened either suspension or a total ban after Ateba repeatedly disrupted briefings when press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre failed to call on him. Officials told Ateba that White House correspondents are held to a set of standards, including “respecting [his] colleagues and not impeding events or briefings on campus.”
“This letter serves as your written warning, pursuant to the May 5, 2023 Notice, that the behavior you exhibited on June 26, 2023 is unacceptable,” the letter, which Ateba shared on Twitter, reads. “If you continue to impede briefings or events by shouting over your colleagues who have been called on for a question, even after you have been asked to stop by a White House employee, then your hard pass may be suspended or revoked, following notice and an opportunity to respond.”
“We hope that you will work with us to avoid any future issues in the press briefing room or at other events on White House grounds. If you would like to comment on this letter, please reply by email within 7 days,” the letter continues.
BREAKING: Following @washingtonpost hit piece meant to prevent me from renewing my hard pass, the @WhiteHouse and @PressSec office just sent me ‘A WARNING LETTER.” Here it is:
Mr. Ateba,
We strongly support the important role that members of the press play in covering the White… pic.twitter.com/7EbS9HDpIW
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) July 11, 2023
The unsigned letter then cited multiple incidents in which Ateba assertively confronted the press secretary, including during former White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s final briefing on May 13, 2022, and a March 20, 2023, briefing, during which he shouted as Jean-Pierre introduced the cast of Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso.”
The document said Ateba also “impeded” a June 26 briefing and refused to “stop interrupting” as Jean-Pierre called on a different reporter in the briefing room. (RELATED: ‘It’s Been Hell’: Simon Ateba Dives Into Conflict With Jean-Pierre After Receiving ‘Winner Of 2022’ Award)
“You did not stop interrupting when your colleagues asked you to stop, or when the Press Secretary informed you that you were being rude to her and to your colleagues,” the letter said of the June 26 incident.
The Today News Africa reporter also confronted Jean-Pierre about refusing to call on Daily Caller White House correspondent Diana Glebova as she attempted to ask former senior White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci about the origins of COVID-19 in November.
Ateba told the Daily Caller he believes the White House “coordinated” with the Washington Post, which initially reported on the letter, and the Senate Press Gallery to “assassinate [his] character and direct hate” toward him.
“I would like the American people to know that I believe the White House coordinated with the Washington Post and ordered them to do a hit piece on me days ago to assassinate my character and direct hate toward me and endanger my life and prevent me from renewing my hard pass which expires on July 31,” Ateba told the Caller. “I also believe that the White House is coordinating with the Senate Press Gallery, which has taken more than a month to approve my application for me to apply for a hard pass renewal at the White House.”
“They are doing all they can to silence and direct hatred toward me so that people would hate and probably hurt me,” he continued.
Ateba, who hails from Cameroon, said he has resorted to yelling in the briefing room because of Jean-Pierre’s refusal to call on him and because he has been “restricted” from attending events and press conferences hosted by President Joe Biden. He added he has been “consistently ignored” by the White House despite his constant emails and calls.
“I have faced discrimination and racism from the Left, the same Left that often accuses conservatives of racism. As I continue to face discrimination and racism from the Left, I am now close to believing that everything is fake in the United States of America,” he added. “[P]ress freedom is fake, the First Amendment is fake, working hard does not pay, trying to shed light on ties between the United States and Africa as China and Russia expand their influence and push out the United States from the continent is not a good idea.”
“May God have mercy on those defaming me in the newspapers, those assassinating my character, and directing hate toward me. I am just calling on the American people to continue to pray for me. When you are defamed, threatened, maligned and attacked, you begin to question why it is important to continue to be a good person, to try so hard to share the truth, to inform the people, to be honest, when it brings only hatred and suffering,” his statement concluded.
Ateba has accused Jean-Pierre of “discrimination” and has repeatedly said she should be “ashamed” for refusing to call on him in the briefing room. After derailing Psaki’s last briefing, the White House Correspondents’ Association threatened to expel him if he continued with this behavior.
In a June 27 interview with Daily Caller Editorial Director Vince Coglianese, Ateba expressed concern that the Biden administration would attempt to have him killed. “I don’t know if I’m safe, I don’t know if they’ll kill me, I don’t know what they will do next,” Ateba said.
The White House suspended and later attempted to permanently ban former CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta during former President Donald Trump’s administration after Acosta repeatedly disrupted press briefings. The CNN reporter once physically grabbed an intern who attempted to grab the microphone back from him.
CNN sued over the suspension, and a judge ordered the White House to reinstate Acosta’s press pass, saying his Fifth Amendment right to due process was violated.