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** OPINION
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** The Trump administration goes on the attack against The Wall Street Journal
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, talking to reporters outside of the White House on Monday. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Well, this comes as absolutely no surprise. Days after The Wall Street Journal dropped an exclusive story that tied President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, the Journal has been banned from the group of pool reporters covering Trump’s upcoming trip to Scotland.

The White House press pool is for a smaller group of reporters covering the president during events when the whole press corps can’t be accommodated. The White House Correspondents’ Association used to pick which news outlets were in the pool, but earlier this year, the White House and press secretary Karoline Leavitt took over that role.

Leavitt told Politico’s Eli Stokols and Irie Sentner ([link removed]) that Tarini Parti, who covers the White House for The Wall Street Journal, would be banned from Trump’s upcoming trip. Politico reported that Parti was supposed to be the print pooler for the final two days of Trump’s four-day trip to his golf courses in Turnberry and Aberdeen, Scotland.

Parti was not one of the reporters on the Journal story published on July 17: “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.” ([link removed]) But you had to assume that the White House was going to find a way to punish the Journal.

It’s not much different than the White House banning The Associated Press from pools because it continued to call the body of water between Florida and Texas the “Gulf of Mexico” instead of what Trump wants it called — the “Gulf of America.” The AP has fought the Trump administration in court, and after an initial ruling that said the AP could not be punished for its editorial content, an appeals court ruled the White House could ban the AP.

For decades, the AP had been included in the White House pool because of its size and reach. But the White House has since revamped which outlets have access to the pool, no longer guaranteeing wire services a spot.

About the decision to ban the Journal on Trump’s upcoming trip, Leavitt told Politico, "As the appeals court confirmed, the Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces. Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board. Every news organization in the entire world wishes to cover President Trump, and the White House has taken significant steps to include as many voices as possible.”

Let’s be clear, this isn’t about the White House taking steps to “include as many voices as possible.” This is strictly about the Trump administration punishing a news organization because they don’t like its coverage. After all, the Journal was already scheduled to be included in the pool. The ban came after the Journal’s story on Trump and Epstein.

It’s not known how long the ban might last.

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** See you in court … maybe
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In addition to banning The Wall Street Journal from the press pool, Trump is taking bigger action against the news outlet: He’s suing it for $10 billion. The suit includes everybody from the reporters on the story, to the Journal’s publisher, Dow Jones & Co., to the parent company News Corp, to the big boss of it all, Rupert Murdoch.

In his latest piece ([link removed]) , Media Matters’ Matt Gertz writes, “Trump’s lawsuit is both unprecedented and consistent with Trump’s authoritarian treatment of a free press whose criticism he seeks to curtail through corrupt means. The message it sends is straightforward: If you publish reporting that displeases the president — even if, like Murdoch, your support was crucial to his political ascension — he may try to ruin you, so don’t try it.”

Trump’s other tactic here is to deflect attention away from himself by pointing a finger at those who his MAGA base already hates: the media and Barack Obama.

Gertz wrote, “Much of MAGA media seems eager to target the Journal and Obama on Trump’s behalf. But it remains to be seen whether those influencers — or their audience — will be willing to allow the Epstein story to fade away altogether. That said, Trump’s best hope of keeping his supporters happy may very well be increasing the scale and tempo of his authoritarian attacks — and that means there will be more to come in the months ahead.”


** Holding up a shiny object
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In Monday’s newsletter, I wrote about Trump posting on Truth Social that the National Football League’s Washington Commanders and Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians should change back to their previous nicknames that many believed were racially insensitive.

I also wrote, “As the Epstein stories continue to swirl around Trump, it’s no surprise that he has thrown a distraction or two out there. You know, a story or two to get people talking about something else.”

I’m not alone in that thinking. On his ESPN show “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith said Monday, “I think it’s the president being petty. I think it’s him being evasive. Because the reality is that no matter how good he wants people to believe things are with the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and other things that have been transpiring, tariff wars, the border issues … there are millions upon millions of people in the United States of America that are not necessarily happy with some of the things that he is doing. So what does he do? He caters to his base.”

Smith continued, “By him bringing up (the nicknames), we all know from a political standpoint, it’s much ado about nothing. It’s just him catering to his base to make sure that he serves to appease them in some way to distract from other issues, including the Epstein files, by the way. Because a lot of people associated with the MAGA right want those files released, and you even have Republican representatives on the Hill wanting those files released, wanting to see for themselves because they’re not buying what the administration is saying when they say there is absolutely nothing there.”

The comments were political, which isn’t unusual for Smith, who often talks politics on his podcast and as a guest on news shows. But it was unusual for his ESPN show.

But there was a sports angle. They were talking about the nicknames of sports teams, and more notably, Trump made threats about making it difficult for the Commanders to build a new stadium in Washington. (Not that Trump can do anything about that.)

That leads me to the next item …


** What’s that you say?
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Kudos to Washington Post sports columnist Barry Svrluga for digging up this tweet ([link removed]) from Oct. 8, 2013: “President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them, not nonsense.”

Who wrote that? Donald Trump.

Yet here he is, 12 years later, telling the Washington football team what to do with its nickname.

Svrluga wrote in his latest column ([link removed]) , “President Trump, this is not your concern.”

Whose concern is it? Svrluga’s excellent column gets into the details of a potential new stadium in Washington and who has a say in it all.


** What’s the number
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., shown here last month in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

As you recall, Paramount, which owns CBS, recently settled its lawsuit with Trump. The president had claimed CBS News edited a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in such a way as to help her defeat Trump in the election.

Even though legal experts agreed Trump had no case, Paramount settled because, many believe, it wants Trump’s Federal Communications Commission to approve an impending sale to Skydance.

Now comes this controversy: Paramount says the settlement calls for it to pay Trump $16 million. But Trump says he will receive $16 million plus another $16 million to $19 million in advertising value.

So which is it?

The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr wrote ([link removed]) , “Paramount has denied that its settlement includes public service announcements and said it ‘has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump.’”

But now three liberal U.S. senators — Democrats Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon, along with Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders — are trying to get to the bottom of it. They sent a letter Monday to Skydance CEO David Ellison, asking him what he knows.

The letter said, “Is there currently any arrangement under which you or Skydance will provide compensation, advertising, or promotional activities that in any way assist President Trump, his family, his presidential library, or other Administration officials? If so, what is the nature of this arrangement? What will you or Skydance provide, and what have you discussed receiving in return from the Trump Administration?”

Barr wrote, “The senators also reiterated their concern that Paramount — and its would-be owner, Skydance — could be seen to have bribed Trump to receive a go-ahead from the Federal Communications Commission to consummate its merger. The deal requires the FCC’s approval — and that of its pugnacious chairman, Brendan Carr — because it involves the transfer of broadcast licenses. The senators pressed Ellison, who was photographed in April with Trump, to reveal whether he has discussed the merger with him and whether he has agreed to ‘make changes to Skydance’s content or Paramount’s or CBS’s content at the request of the Trump administration.’”

The latest controversy involving Paramount and CBS is the announcement that CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is being canceled in May. The announcement came just days after Colbert blasted Paramount for settling the suit with Trump, calling it equal to a “big, fat bribe.” However, CBS claims cancelling the late-night show was strictly for financial reasons.


** Another departure
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Axios’ Sara Fischer broke the news on X ([link removed]) that Jonathan Capehart, a columnist and associate editor at The Washington Post, is leaving the Post after 18 years. He has accepted a buyout that the Post is offering. He will continue as co-host of “The Weekend” on MSNBC and as a political analyst for the PBS “NewsHour.”

He becomes the latest Post staff member to leave following owner Jeff Bezos’ revamping of the paper’s opinion section.

Media Nation’s Dan Kennedy asked ([link removed]) , “Is Jonathan Capehart the most visible journalist to quit The Washington Post?”

He just might be. Capehart was a part of the editorial board of the New York Daily News that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999. He joined the Post and served on its editorial board from 2007 to 2023. He had since been a columnist focusing on the intersection of social and cultural issues and politics.

TheWrap’s Sean Burch wrote ([link removed]) , “President Trump has been a go-to target for Capehart for several years, and his final story for WaPo, published in late May, includes a conversation with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on ‘countering’ the president ([link removed]) . Capehart has also called Trump a ‘cancer on the presidency and American society ([link removed]) ,’ and compared a rally he had at Madison Square Garden last year to a Nazi rally at MSG in 1939.”

Those opinions, it would appear, might not fit in with what the Post’s opinion section is looking for.

Earlier this month, Post CEO Will Lewis sent a memo to staff talking about the vision for the opinion section, adding, “I understand and respect, however, that chosen path is not for everyone. That’s why we introduced the voluntary separation program. As we continue in this new direction, I want to ask those who do not feel aligned with the company’s plan to reflect on that.”


** Media tidbits
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* Mediaite’s Colby Hall with “Tulsi Gabbard’s Desperate Russia Hail Mary Knocked Down By GOP’s Own Findings.” ([link removed])
* And here’s Mediaite’s Isaac Schorr with “Fox’s Andy McCarthy Torches Tulsi Gabbard Over ‘Misleading’ Attack on Obama and Russia Investigation.” ([link removed])
* And one more with comments from Mediaite founder Dan Abrams: “‘This Is So Dishonest’: Dan Abrams Systematically Dismantles Tulsi Gabbard’s Alleged Obama Scandal.” ([link removed])
* Nieman Lab’s Hanaa' Tameez and Neel Dhanesha with“Public media appeals to audiences for support after Congress cuts off its funding.” ([link removed])
* The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Fritz with “How YouTube Won the Battle for TV Viewers.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Joseph Bernstein with “Who Is Watching All These Podcasts?” ([link removed])
* Speaking of watching podcasts, check out the most recent episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast” ([link removed]) and my conversation with America’s Writing Coach, Roy Peter Clark.
* For Poynter, Jan Wesner Childs with “Why accurately reporting death tolls in a disaster is so challenging — and important.” ([link removed])
* For Awful Announcing, Michael Grant with “Alabama A&M’s Thai Floyd on new gig as first full-time female football voice at HBCU.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* Horrible news as Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for playing Theo on “The Cosby Show” in the 1980s, died while swimming off the coast in Costa Rica. Authorities say he drowned after a current pulled him into deeper water. He was 54. Here’s more ([link removed]) on Warner’s career from The Associated Press’ Javier Cordoba and Andrew Dalton.
* Finally, in Monday’s newsletter, I meant to link to the following story, but inserted the wrong link. So I fixed it for today: The New York Times’ Benjamin Weiser with "How a Single Overdose Unraveled an Empire of Heroin." ([link removed])


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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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