National Review
WH official reporter threatened about story about her relationship, accused her of sexual jealousy
A White House official threatened Politician reporter Tara Palmeri after she chased a story about the officer’s relationship with a different reporter at Axios, Vanity Fair revealed on Friday. Palmeri contacted Axios reporter Alexi McCammond on January 20 to request comments about McCammond’s relationship with assistant press secretary TJ Ducklo. A male politician reporter approached Ducklo for comment, but Ducklo later called Palmeri and, in an unofficial conversation, threatened to ruin his reputation if the story was published. “I will destroy you,” Ducklo told Palmeri, sources familiar with the incident reported to Vanity Fair. Ducklo then accused Palmeri of being “jealous” that an unidentified man “wanted to f ***” McCammond “and not you”, and also claimed that Palmeri was “jealous” of his own relationship with McCammond. The altercation sparked conversations between senior Politico officials and White House officials, including press secretary Jen Psaki, communications director Kate Bedingfield and advisor Anita Dunn. Senior White House officials acknowledged that Ducklo’s behavior was inappropriate, but also accused Palmeri of breaking his agreement with Ducklo to speak out. Ducklo sent Palmeri a general apology for losing patience. Psaki announced on Friday, several hours after the Vanity Fair story was released, that Ducklo would be suspended without pay for a week. “In addition to your initial apology, [Ducklo] You sent [Palmeri] a personal note expressing his deepest regret, ”said Psaki in a statement. “He was put on an unpaid week-long suspension. In addition, when he returns, he will no longer be assigned to work with any reporter at Politico. ”On January 21, the day after Ducklo’s altercation with Palmeri, President Biden told political appointees in a virtual oath ceremony:“ If you work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk to someone, I I will fire you on the spot. I don’t want any excuses. “Ducklo and McCammond’s relationship was published in People magazine earlier this week. People’s story dropped hours after the Politician contacted the White House to comment on the relationship – a chain of events that was subsequently observed in the Politician’s Manual The Biden administration has promised a change in the Trump administration’s often antagonistic relationship with the media. Several reporters expressed disappointment after the publication of the report on Ducklo’s comments. legal threats, name-calling, physical removal of campaign events. I don’t remember personally encountering anything as cruel as the phone call described here, “commented Politico national correspondent Ben Schreckinger on Twitter.