The Greatest Enemy of Press Freedom in a Generation is back on the high horse.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday issued an implicit rebuke of his successor, Sean Spicer, who tangled with a CNN reporter in New York on Wednesday at Donald Trump’s first news conference as president-elect.
“I can never recall a scenario in which I was tempted to throw somebody out of the room,” even when he was most frustrated with a reporter, Earnest said at the afternoon’s daily briefing. “I can certainly say that that's not something I ever threatened to do, even if the thought crossed my mind.”
Lets look at Obama Inc's track record.
As a reminder, here's how Obama handles reporters.
A reporter got stuck in less than stellar surroundings Saturday. As President Obama golfed at the fancy Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., an exclusive course that has hosted four President’s cups, the reporter was put in a maintenance shed.
Sometimes they're locked in closets.
The White House website proudly says ‘President Obama is committed to creating the most open and accessible administration in American history.’
But try telling Vice President Joe Biden’s staff that, after they held a local reporter in a closet for hours after he was invited to cover a Florida political fundraiser because they did not want him talking with the guests.
Or just locking them in prison.
For the past five years, he has battled the Obama administration's Justice Department, which in 2009 took a rather unprecedented step of renewing a subpoena scheduled to expire that year. From his case and others the Obama administration has pursued, Risen told The Times' Maureen Dowd recently that Obama represented a fundamental obstacle for press freedom.
"It’s hypocritical," Risen said. "A lot of people still think this is some kind of game or signal or spin. They don’t want to believe that Obama wants to crack down on the press and whistleblowers. But he does. He’s the greatest enemy to press freedom in a generation."
That high horse suddenly looks mighty low.