Overview

• White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Wall Street Journal is excluded from the 13-outlet press pool accompanying Trump’s Scotland visit from July 25 to 29.
• Leavitt argued that no news outlet has an inherent right to pool access and cited the Journal’s “defamatory and misleading” coverage as the reason for its exclusion.
• The decision follows the Journal’s publication of allegations that Trump sent Jeffrey Epstein an obscene birthday card in 2003 containing a graphic drawing and sexual message.
• In response to the article, Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Journal in Florida and the state attorney general has moved to unseal Epstein grand jury testimony.
• Observers note the exclusion reflects a broader strategy of using accreditation to influence media coverage and has drawn criticism from within the MAGA movement over the administration’s handling of Epstein-related disclosures.