On Tuesday, the White House said in a letter to Politico that the revocation of the media's press pass last week was an “unusual move” because the news agency violated professional standards, including using anonymous sources, “spreading verifiable false information about national security, etc... and publishing sensitive or confidential information.” However, according to an invitation letter checked by the “Washington Post”, one of the violations listed by the White House in the letter was actually written based on a media conference call hosted by the White House itself. Recordings checked by the media also showed that during the conference call, reporters were told to cite an anonymous “senior government official” when relaying news to the public. The letter referring to the report is one of three documents submitted to court by the government on Tuesday to defend its decision to ban Politico, CNN, and MS NOW from entering the White House campus. One of the six alleged violations Politico is an article published in June 2026, according to the White House letter. The beginning of the article quoted a “senior government official”, detailing efforts aimed at ending the war in Iran.

On Tuesday, the White House said in a letter to Politico that the revocation of the media's press pass last week was an “unusual move” because the news agency violated professional standards, including using anonymous sources, “spreading verifiable false information about national security, etc... and publishing sensitive or confidential information.” However, according to an invitation letter checked by the “Washington Post”, one of the violations listed by the White House in the letter was actually written based on a media conference call hosted by the White House itself. Recordings checked by the media also showed that during the conference call, reporters were told to cite an anonymous “senior government official” when relaying news to the public. The letter referring to the report is one of three documents submitted to court by the government on Tuesday to defend its decision to ban Politico, CNN, and MS NOW from entering the White House campus. One of the six alleged violations Politico is an article published in June 2026, according to the White House letter. The beginning of the article quoted a “senior government official”, detailing efforts aimed at ending the war in Iran.