WASHINGTON – A White House press officer was suspended for a week without pay on Friday, the government announced, after a report detailed allegations that he verbally harassed and threatened a politician reporter.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on Friday that Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo was suspended for a week without pay after a Vanity Fair report that said Ducklo had threatened the reporter after learning that Politico planned to publish an article about his relationship with an Axios reporter.
Ducklo, a former NBC News communications officer, is expected to return to work after the suspension. Ducklo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Joe Biden campaigned with the message that he would restore respect and civility to the White House, often criticizing the behavior of the previous president and his team, including the way the press was treated.
“I am not kidding when I say this: if you are working with me and I hear that you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk to someone, I promise I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts, ”said Biden during a virtual nominee oath in his first week in office.
People magazine reported this month that Ducklo is dating Alexi McCammond, an Axios reporter who is also a contributor to NBC and MSNBC, in an article that was tweeted with approval by several senior White House officials. The Politician then reported that he had informed the White House that he intended to publish an article shortly before the People magazine article appeared.
Vanity Fair reported that Ducklo called Tara Palmeri, a Politico reporter, and threatened her when she heard that Politico had planned to publish an article.
The Vanity Fair article said that Ducklo made “derogatory and misogynistic comments” to Palmeri and threatened to “destroy her”.
Psaki said Ducklo would no longer be assigned to work with Politico reporters as soon as he returned from his suspension.
“TJ Ducklo apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life. He is the first to recognize that this is not the pattern of behavior set by the president,” said Psaki in a statement. tweet. “In addition to his initial apology, he sent the reporter a personal note expressing his deepest regret.”
“I take this very seriously,” Psaki told reporters on Friday afternoon. “He [Ducklo] he is the first to recognize that this is not the standard of behavior set by the president, nor is it the standard of behavior set by me. “
Psaki said that while he was not condoning Ducklo’s behavior, the story he discussed with the Politico reporter was about his personal life and not an issue related to White House policy. Psaki acknowledged that the White House did not suspend Ducklo immediately after learning of the incident, but after being informed about the Vanity Fair article.
Psaki said he had not discussed Ducklo’s behavior with Biden directly, but with White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
When asked how reporters outside the Politico should feel comfortable working with Ducklo when he returns, Psaki reiterated that Ducklo’s behavior was “completely unacceptable” and that she had made it clear “it will never happen again and it will not be tolerated here at the White House. ”
