WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The White House must restore the revoked credentials of CNN’s correspondent Jim Acosta, the Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement on Thursday.
« Journalists should be able to do their job without fear that a tough series of questions will provoke retaliation, » said CPJ’s Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch. « The White House should immediately reinstate Jim Acosta’s press pass, and refrain from punishing reporters by revoking their access — that’s not how a free press works. »
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders later said on Twitter that Acosta had been « placing hands » on the intern who removed the microphone from his hand. Sanders said she would revoke Acosta’s White House pass. Sanders also tweeted a video of the purported incident.
The decision to revoke Acosta’s credentials drew a fierce backlash from the journalistic community. The White House Correspondents Association called on the White House to « immediately reverse this weak and misguided action. » The organization also said that Sarah Sanders had « lied » about Acosta’s actions.
