Politics - News Analysis

Jim Acosta Just Confronted Sarah Huckabee Sanders Over His Staff, ‘Why Doesn’t Trump Have Faith in His Advisers?’

Today was the first White House press briefing since the fight between the White House and CNN over the decision to pull Jim Acosta’s press credential. Acosta’s hard pass was restored and the White House announced new “rules” for decorum at briefings.

Today Sarah Huckabee Sanders took a question from Acosta regarding Paul Manafort, but he managed to get in a follow-up asking why Trump doesn’t have faith in any of his advisers.

“The President doesn’t believe the warnings in the climate report. The President doesn’t believe the CIA when it comes to Jamal Khashoggi. The President doesn’t believe the intelligence community when it comes to Russia meddling. Why doesn’t he have faith in his advisers?,” Acosta asked.

Sanders responded, “That’s not accurate.”

Sanders insisted Trump does have a “great deal of faith in the intelligence community” and said “we haven’t seen definitive evidence” from them that ties the Saudi crown prince to Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Acosta’s permanent White House press credentials were temporarily suspended back in early November after Trump lashed out at him following questions Trump did not like.

CNN later sued the White House over the revocation, arguing Acosta’s First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights had been violated. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that the White House had to immediately restore Acosta’s “hard pass,” which allows reporters to get on the White House grounds to do their reporting.

The judge ruled that CNN demonstrated that Acosta’s right to due process had been violated when the White House did not give him an opportunity to appeal the administration’s decision to revoke his pass. The judge also claimed that Acosta suffered irreparable harm in that he was unable to attend possible newsworthy press conferences and events while his pass was revoked.

In response to the CNN lawsuit, the White House said it would create an established set of rules to maintain decorum and order during briefings and other press events. The new rules stipulate that each journalist will be permitted to ask a “single question” before yielding the floor to other reporters. Any follow-up questions are only allowed “at the discretion of the president or other White House official taking questions.”

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