Politico got a letter on Monday. By Wednesday night, it had a new headline.
On Oct. 16, the outlet reported that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles helped set up then-press secretary Katie Zacharia’s Fox News interview with Sean Hannity. The headline said it plainly: “Susie Wiles helped set up Fox interview ahead of press secretary’s exit.”
That headline is gone. A correction now sits on top of the story:
“An earlier version of this report, including its headline, mischaracterized the role White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played in then-press secretary Katie Zacharia’s interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. POLITICO’s follow-up reporting indicates she did not play a direct role in setting up the interview.”
In the new version, Wiles only “offered positive reinforcement.” A word of encouragement is not a booking.
What changed Politico’s mind?
A letter from the White House counsel.
Will Scharf wrote to Politico on Monday, Axios first reported. He demanded the outlet “immediately correct or retract these publications” and apologize to President Trump and Wiles. He gave it two days.
“Failure to do so or otherwise respond justifying Politico’s publications within 48 hours will prompt an immediate review of Politico’s relationship with the White House, and, of course, consideration of all other appropriate and available legal remedies,” Scharf wrote.
He said the White House gave the reporter “documentary evidence” against the story’s premise before it ran. It ran anyway.
Then he added the line that will stick: “freedom of the press is not a professional exemption from accountability.
