White House Gives Politico 48 Hours to Retract Stories on Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
Photo: AxiosThe White House counsel's office gave Politico 48 hours to retract or correct recent stories about alleged White House staff conflict, according to a letter counsel William O. Scharf sent Monday to Politico global editor-in-chief Jonathan Green. The deadline expires Thursday. The letter targets articles about Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, including an Oct. 15 report that President Donald Trump was considering replacing her and an Oct. 16 story claiming she set up former press secretary Katie Zacharia for humiliation on Sean Hannity's Fox News show. Scharf called the stories false and defamatory and demanded retractions, an apology to Trump and removal of the story from Politico's archives. The letter threatens legal remedies and consequences if Politico refuses.
Left-leaning outlets tracked by Crosswire had not reported the story at the time of writing; alternative and right-leaning outlets had. Axios, the alternative source, stresses the deadline and the risk of worsening relations with Politico and the wider press corps. Fox News leads with the threat over the Wiles reporting, naming Scharf. Just the News gives the most detail, laying out the letter's demands and the articles at issue.
How the sides differ Left sources have not covered it; alternative sources stress press relations, while right sources detail the White House's demands and falsity claims.
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Not covering this story. None of the left-leaning outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.
Axios leads with the White House demand and Thursday deadline, stressing possible escalation of tense relations with Politico and the press corps. It cites the counsel's office letter.
- Just the NewsWhite House demands Politico retract 'demonstrably false' articles or face consequences
Fox News and Just the News lead with the threat tied to the Wiles reporting, naming Scharf. Just the News details the letter's claims, demands and the specific articles.