The White House has demanded that the news outlet Politico retract or correct three reports about the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. It warned of “consequences” if the outlet does not comply.
White House counsel Will Scharf sent a letter to Politico earlier this week. The letter gave the outlet 48 hours to act. That deadline expires on Thursday.
The first report said President Donald Trump was thinking about replacing Ms Wiles. It described her as being “under fire” inside the administration. Mr Trump dismissed the story as “fake news”.
A second report said the first story had caused a “freakout” in the White House. It claimed the president “blew up” when he read it. A White House spokesman called the report “unbelievably stupid and false”.
The third report suggested that Ms Wiles helped arrange a Fox News interview for a former press aide, Katie Zacharia, before she left her job. The White House and Fox News both disputed this. Officials said they had shown Politico text messages before the story was published. The messages suggested Ms Zacharia arranged the interview herself.
Politico has not yet said whether it will change or withdraw the reports.
The row is part of a wider fight between the Trump administration and the news media. Reporters’ groups have repeatedly accused the White House of punishing outlets over stories it does not like, including by limiting press access. The White House denies this and says it only objects to reporting it believes is wrong.
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