The Wall Street Journal reporter, Tarini Parti, was excluded from President Donald Trump's press pool for his upcoming trip to Scotland (YYYY-MM-DD). This action follows the newspaper's publication of an article alleging that Trump sent Jeffrey Epstein a 50th birthday letter containing a drawing of a naked woman, prompting a $10 billion lawsuit from the president. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the Wall Street Journal's actions were "fake and defamatory," and that thirteen other outlets would cover the trip. The decision to control press pool access came after the administration previously banned the Associated Press from certain events.

Parti's removal has drawn criticism from White House Correspondents Association president Weijia Jiang, who called it a "deeply troubling" attempt to punish a news outlet for its coverage and a violation of the First Amendment. The WSJ has defended the accuracy of its reporting. Trump's trip to Scotland includes work on a UK-US trade deal and visits to his golf courses. The removal of the reporter is not connected to any content she produced personally.

Impact Statement: The removal of the Wall Street Journal reporter raises concerns about press freedom and the administration's control over access to the president.