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Politico corrected an article about White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles after the White House threatened it with unspecified “consequences” – but refused to change two more pieces and accused the Trump administration of retaliation.
The news outlet corrected an Oct. 16 article that implied Wiles orchestrated disastrous Fox News interviews that led to Katie Zacharia’s stunning ouster as press secretary after just five days on the job, with one sourcing referring to it as a “sanctioned hit.”
Text messages obtained by The Post, however, showed that it was Zacharia herself who was pushing for the TV appearances, writing, “I’d like to do news hits morning and evening.”
On Monday, the White House’s counsel sent Politico a letter demanding it retract and issue corrections for three articles that suggested Wiles was stirring up drama within 48 hours — or “face the consequences.”
Politico has issued a correction for the Oct. 16 story, saying an earlier version “mischaracterized” Wiles’ involvement and admitting that “she did not play a direct role in setting up the interview.”
But in a letter obtained by The Post that was sent to the White House Wednesday, Politico’s outside counsel Theodore Boutrous accused the Trump administration of trying to “chill and punish” the outlet’s reporting because it believes its coverage of Trump is too “negative.”
“Politico categorically rejects the false accusations in your letter that it ‘chose to publish fanciful fiction’ and ‘purposeful falsehoods designed to mislead the public,’” Boutrous wrote, adding that the articles included comments from senior administration officials.
“That said, Politico takes seriously assertions like those made in your letter,” he continued. “As a result, Politico determined it was appropriate to correct one of the three articles identified in your letter.”
He added that the company “would be remiss if we did not note that the timing and substance of your letter further confirms the unlawful retaliatory and viewpoint discriminatory motives underlying” the president’s ban of Politico, CNN and MS NOW from the White House.
In the Monday letter sent to Politico’s global editor in chief Jonathan Greenberger, White House Counsel William Scharf referenced three articles, according to a copy obtained by The Post.
An Oct. 15 story titled “Trump’s ice maiden is under fire” claimed the president was considering a replacement for Wiles, which he called “fake news;” an Oct. 16 article wrote that the previous day’s story had caused a “freakout,” which the White House denied as “unbelievably stupid and false;” and the Oct. 16 article about Zacharia’s exit.
Scharf accused Politico of publishing “demonstrably false and defamatory articles in an apparent attempt to manufacture a narrative of dysfunction and infighting in the White House,” despite receiving “direct, on-the-record refutations” from senior staffers and Trump himself.
He added that a Politico reporter had said the outlet would not remove Wiles from the story centering on Zacharia “because [Wiles] was the ‘hook’ for the story – a legally fraught and alarming admission to say the least.” Scharf accused the management at Politico of “gossip-peddling.”
The attorney demanded that Politico correct or retract the three articles, publicly apologize to Trump and Wiles and remove the stories from its digital archives within 48 hours – a deadline ending Thursday.
If Politico failed to do so, he said, it would “prompt an immediate review of Politico’s relationship with the White House, and, of course, consideration of all other appropriate and legal remedies.”
By Thursday, Politico had not issued corrections on the two other articles concerning Susie Wiles. In its letter, the outlet vowed to “defend its journalism and the right of its reporters to … report fearlessly on the President and other White House officials.”
White House spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez said “Politico should apologize to its dwindling readership for knowingly publishing lies.”
“Politico’s reckless disregard for the truth is a disgrace to journalism. At this point, the question isn’t whether Politico got the facts wrong – it’s why its editors continue to publish claims they know are false,” she told The Post.
Over the weekend, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also took aim at Politico, which is owned by Axel Springer, a German company.
“Politico is a foreign-op designed to interfere in American politics and meddle in our elections with disinformation and misinformation,” he wrote Saturday.
Trump has banned Politico, CNN and MS NOW from covering him in the Oval Office and Air Force One. The president also attempted to block the three outlets from the White House grounds altogether, though a judge later restored their access.
Trump has also butted heads with the Associated Press, banning it from the Oval Office and Air Force after the outlet refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. A federal judge also reinstated the outlet’s access.
Meanwhile, CNN on Wednesday threatened further legal action against the White House if it does not reinstate the network’s access to Air Force One and the Washington press pool.