White House limits journalists at Trump-Kim dinner over ‘sensitivities’ to shouted questions

The White House restricted the access of American journalists on Wednesday to a dinner with President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over “sensitivities” to shouted questions at the leaders’ earlier meeting, according to the pool of reporters traveling with the president.

Just one print reporter was allowed to witness Trump and Kim, who were joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and North Korean officials, at dinner in Hanoi, Vietnam. Among those blocked by the White House from viewing the dinner were reporters from the major wire services.

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Earlier Wednesday, Trump briefly responded to shouted questions from the full press pool at a photo opportunity where he and Kim met and shook hands at a hotel in Hanoi. Asked if he had any reaction to the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney who is slated to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, the president shook his head no and thanked the media, signaling his desire to end the exchange with reporters.

In a statement to the press pool, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there would be limited room for journalists at the dinner “due to the sensitive nature of the meetings,” adding that she would ensure photographers, TV, radio and print reporters were all represented.

“We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible,” Sanders said. The White House Correspondents Association did not immediately return a request for comment.

Reporters’ questions at Wednesday’s events appeared to be directed exclusively at Trump and not at Kim, whose government maintains strict control of North Korean media outlets and allows only fawning coverage of the nation’s ruling dynasty.

At the dinner, Trump asked photojournalists to send him some of the pictures so he could share them with Kim, reporters at the summit wrote on Twitter.

The decision to limit the access of American journalists comes one day after the White House press corps’ filing center in Vietnam was abruptly relocated from the hotel where Kim is staying in Hanoi. The move happened as the North Korean leader arrived on Tuesday, forcing some reporters to abandon weeks of planning and scramble to adjust to the new arrangements.

In Singapore last June, the size of the American press pool appeared to be cut down to match the number of North Korean “journalists” present at the limited-access portions of the summit, according to a pool report at the time. White House reporters at the time said they were “deeply concerned” about the split from longtime agreements between the administration and the press to ensure adequate coverage.

A pool report Wednesday said at least one still photographer and one cameraman from North Korea were allowed to cover the dinner, but it was unclear if any North Korean print reporters were present.