In May of 2023, The Gateway Pundit reported on the new rules for White House press passes that resulted in the purge of more than 442 reporters.
Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa, Simon Ateba, shared the letter he received threatening to pull his press pass, with details of the new rules.
On Thursday, Ateba initiated a federal lawsuit, “Ateba v Jean-Pierre,” against White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the Secret Service.
The lawsuit, filed by the Center for American Liberty, alleges Ateba’s press badge was unjustly revoked after he caused disruptions during press briefings, violating Ateba’s First and Fifth Amendment rights.
The Blaze reported on Center for American Liberty CEO Harmeet Dhillon’s remarks about the case, “The White House’s new press credential requirements are unconstitutional and directly target Simon.”
“By outsourcing the credentialing process, the White House is giving a group of elite-minded journalists unbridled discretion to pick and choose which reporters and outlets are worthy of holding the White House accountable. We urge the Court to uphold the First Amendment and declare these new requirements unconstitutional so Simon can continue to do his job.”
BREAKING: After years of discrimination and targeting, I just filed my First Amendment Rights lawsuit against @whitehouse and the @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre.https://t.co/89S0rULZL1
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) August 10, 2023
Ateba shared on X, “Once we win the lawsuit against @WhiteHouse and @PressSec, the next ones will be against @whca, @washingtonpost and @politico. When you deliberately assassinate someone’s character, it’s not that different from assassinating them on the street. For far too long, some unsuccessful journalists hid behind groups, associations or publications to unleash their dark side; hatred, envy, racism and violence. They assassinated people they didn’t like or simply envied while pretending to be doing journalistic work. But behind it all was their failure to succeed in life. Assassins have to be held accountable. God help me.”
Once we win the lawsuit against @WhiteHouse and @PressSec, the next ones will be against @whca, @washingtonpost and @politico. When you deliberately assassinate someone’s character, it’s not that different from assassinating them on the street.
For far too long, some… pic.twitter.com/hTaemqGSMG
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) August 11, 2023
BREAKING: Discussing my First Amendment Rights lawsuit against the @WhiteHouse and @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre on @NEWSMAX tonight with my attorney. WATCH pic.twitter.com/lr82EnMUeZ
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) August 12, 2023
