Overview

• Meghan McCain on July 24 labeled CNN’s Kaitlan Collins an “absolute imbecile” and “pure partisan hack” in an X post and urged the White House to revoke her credentials.
• Collins had challenged Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard during a July 23 briefing by questioning the political timing of documents alleging Obama-era officials committed treason in the 2016 Russia investigation.
• Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the declassification as “irrefutable” and accused critics of sowing distrust and chaos in the administration.
• No formal response has been issued to McCain’s call, leaving Collins’s White House access intact as officials reject suggestions of media bias.
• The dispute underscores intensifying partisan battles over journalistic credibility, selective press engagement and the legacy of the Russia collusion narrative.