A Russian state media reporter gained entry to the Oval Office for Trump-Zelensky sit-down

A member of Russia’s state-owned news agency gained access to the Oval Office on Friday to cover President Trump’s sit-down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – even as the AP and Reuters were barred from the high-level meeting. The White House said the journalist was not authorized to be in the press pool.

A member of Russia’s state-owned news agency gained access to the Oval Office on Friday to cover President Trump’s sit-down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – even as the AP and Reuters were barred from the high-level meeting. The White House said the journalist was not authorized to be in the press pool. A correspondent for TASS, a Russian state media organization, was among a group of hand-picked pool reporters present in the Oval Office for the leaders’ meeting, which is part of the US’ efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. The testy Trump-Zelensky sit-down may yield a signed deal that would exchange US access to Ukraine’s mineral resources for security guarantees. Though the group of pool reporters in the Oval Office was hand picked, the White House has denied the TASS staffer was permitted entry. “TASS was not on the approved list of media for today’s pool,” a White House official told CNN in a statement. “As soon as it came to the attention of press office staff that he was in the Oval, he was escorted out by the Press Secretary.” “He is not on the approved list for the press conference,” the official said. The apparent gaffe comes three days after the White House announced it would wrest the choice of pool reporters from the White House Correspondents’ Association, breaking with decades of precedent. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, promoted the move as democratic on Tuesday, emphasizing that the WHCA “should no longer have a monopoly over the privilege of press access at the White House.”