A journalist from Russia’s state-owned news agency, TASS, was able to enter the Oval Office on Friday to cover President Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—despite the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters being barred from the high-level discussion. The White House later stated that the journalist had not been authorized to be part of the press pool.
A TASS correspondent was among a select group of reporters granted access to the Oval Office for the meeting, which was part of U.S. efforts to mediate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The tense exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy could potentially lead to a deal granting the U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources in exchange for security assurances.
Although the reporters in attendance were carefully chosen, the White House denied that the TASS journalist had been approved.
“TASS was not on the approved list of media for today’s pool,” a White House official told CNN. “As soon as press office staff realized he was in the Oval Office, he was escorted out by the Press Secretary.”
The official added, “He is not on the approved list for the press conference.”
The apparent security lapse comes just days after the White House announced it would take over the selection of press pool reporters, a decision that broke with decades of precedent. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the move as a step toward democratizing press access, stating on Tuesday that the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) “should no longer have a monopoly over the privilege of press access at the White House.”
Despite assurances that the TASS journalist was not supposed to be present, his entry into the Oval Office raises serious concerns about White House protocol. With the administration now directly managing the press pool, the incident suggests a possible security oversight.
While a Russian state media representative was inadvertently granted access, major U.S. news outlets AP and Reuters were explicitly barred. Reuters was also denied entry to Trump’s first cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The AP, one of the world’s largest news agencies, was banned from both the Oval Office and Air Force One two weeks ago due to its continued use of the term “Gulf of Mexico” alongside “Gulf of America.” The AP has since filed a lawsuit against three Trump administration officials over the ban, though a federal judge declined to order the immediate restoration of its access.
This is not the first controversy involving the Trump administration and Russia’s state-owned news agency. In 2017, the administration faced criticism when a TASS photographer, Alexandr Scherbak, was invited to cover a meeting between Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. U.S. reporters were barred from photographing the meeting, with only White House photographers and Scherbak granted access.
