The White House has defended its Politico ban by pointing to the outlet’s own reporting. However, one of the stories it cited came from a White House-organized press call, according to the Washington Post. The anonymous official quoted in that story was Vice President JD Vance.
After President Donald Trump banned Politico, CNN and MS NOW from the White House, the administration sent letters to explain the decision. For Politico, the government listed six articles it claimed contained falsehoods, unauthorized anonymous sourcing or reporting that threatened national security. The government then submitted this letter to a federal court to defend the Politico ban.
One of those six examples involved reporting on U.S.-Iran peace negotiations from June. In that article, Politico quoted a “senior administration official” who put the odds of a preliminary agreement being signed at between 80 and 85 percent. The White House later held this specific anonymous quote up as evidence that Politico was engaging in problematic journalism.
The White House told reporters exactly how to quote that official
A recording of the call and the original invitation tell a different story from the one the White House presented in court. At the start of the call, a White House aide explicitly instructed the journalists that the session was “on background, attributable to a senior administration official.” For those who joined the call late, the aide repeated the rule.
“On background” is standard practice for White House briefings on sensitive issues. It means reporters are allowed to use the information provided, but they must use the specific attribution agreed upon by the source instead of naming the individual. Politico was simply following the explicit instructions given by the White House.
Politico was not the only outlet on the call. The Associated Press, Bloomberg, CNBC and CBS also reported on it using the same “senior administration official” attribution. None of those outlets were banned over the briefing.
The outlet that identified Vance reported that he spoke to reporters from several news organizations during the call. It was not bound by the anonymity agreement, as it did not take part in the briefing. However, the White House has not confirmed the identification, and it does not appear in the government’s court filings defending the Politico ban.
Vance defended the Politico ban earlier this week, arguing that the administration was refusing to provide special access to outlets that were spreading propaganda. He even joked about the absent outlets at a separate event. If he was the source, he is now defending the exclusion of a news outlet for following the ground rules set for his own briefing.
Journalists were also free to publish the information immediately, as the White House aide on the call stated that “there is no embargo for the contents of the call.” If the White House truly believed the content was too sensitive to be shared, it could have placed the briefing off the record or set an embargo.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the administration early Thursday to restore credentials for all three outlets while the lawsuit proceeds. The judge was skeptical of the national security defense, as Trump’s initial public complaints focused on negative coverage. He also noted that the detailed list of journalistic offenses behind the Politico ban only surfaced after the legal battle began.
The order against the Politico ban lasts 14 days, and Trump has already vowed to appeal. Politico also has until Friday at 5 p.m. to contest the claims in the White House letter.
Published: Sep 24, 2026 11:45 am