During Friday's tense meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, one of the reporters present in the Oval Office was from a Russian state-run media outlet.
Politico reported that an employee of TASS, which is headquartered in Moscow and wholly owned by Russian leader Vladimir Putin's government, was momentarily feet away from Trump and Zelenskyy before being removed. Notably, the TASS reporter was allowed access to the Oval Office, however briefly, while prominent American news wire services Reuters and the Associated Press were denied entry.
"TASS was not on the approved list of media for today’s pool," a White House spokesperson told Politico. "As soon as it came to the attention of press office staff that he was in the Oval, he was escorted out by the Press Secretary. He is not on the approved list for the press conference."
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In addition to the TASS reporter, Brian Glenn — an employee of pro-Trump network Real America's Voice — was also present in the White House, and asked Zelenskyy if he owned a suit (Zelenskyy wore a long-sleeved black shirt emblazoned with the Ukraine trident). Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell observed in an X post that Glenn is also the boyfriend of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Politico reported that the White House did not clarify how a journalist with Russia's largest state-run news agency was allowed to get so close to the president of the United States. According to the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), the process of being granted a "hard pass" to the White House involves a lengthy vetting process.
"To get a hard pass, journalists must submit an application to the White House Press Office and undergo a background screening by the Secret Service, which protects the President and is responsible for security at the White House," the WHCA's website reads. "This process can take several months."
The White House stated that the Ukrainian president was asked to leave the premises after the meeting and is not welcomed back. The rare earth minerals agreement that Trump and Zelenskyy were rumored to finalize was not signed. Former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, who currently is deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, celebrated the meeting, tweeting: "The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office."
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Click here to read Politico's full report.