National overview
WH Official threatened reporter on the story of his relationship, accuses her of sexual jealousy
A White House official threatened Politara reporter Tara Palmeri after following a story of the official’s relationship with another reporter at Axios, Vanity Fair revealed Friday. Palmeri reached out to Axios reporter Alexi McCammond on January 20 to comment on McCammond’s relationship with incoming deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo. A male Politico reporter reached out to Ducklo for comment, but Ducklo called Palmeri and during an off-the-record conversation threatened to ruin her reputation if the story was published. “I will destroy you,” Ducklo told Palmeri. Sources familiar with the incident were reported to Vanity Fair. Ducklo then accused Palmeri of being ‘jealous’ of the fact that an unidentified man’s McCammond ‘and not you’ wants ‘f ***’, and also claims that Palmeri is ‘jealous’ of his own relationship with McCammond. The quarrel sparked talks between senior Politico staff and White House officials, including press secretary Jen Psaki, communications director Kate Bedingfield and adviser Anita Dunn. Senior White House officials acknowledged that Ducklo’s behavior was inappropriate, but also accused Palmeri of violating her agreement with Ducklo. Ducklo sent a general apology to Palmeri for losing his temper. Psaki announced on Friday, hours after the Vanity Fair story broke out, that Ducklo would be suspended for one week without pay. ‘In addition to his initial apology, [Ducklo] sent [Palmeri] a personal note expressing his deep regret, ‘Psaki said in a statement. “He was paid without pay on a week’s suspension. If he returns, he will also no longer work with any reporters at Politico. On January 21, one day after Ducklo’s quarrel with Palmeri, President Biden told political appointments during a de facto swearing-in ceremony: ‘If you ever work with me and I hear that you treat another colleague with respect, then talk to someone down, I’ll fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts. Ducklo and McCammond’s relationship was profiled in People magazine earlier this week. The People story dropped hours after Politico reached out to the White House for comment on the relationship – a series of events that were subsequently noted in Politico’s Playbook. The Biden administration has promised a change from the Trump administration’s often conflicting relationship with the media. Several reporters expressed disappointment after the publication of the report on Ducklo’s comments. ‘I took Donald Trump and his subordinates a lot for my reporting: legal threats, naming, physical removal of campaign events. “I can not remember personally encountering anything as malicious as the phone call described here,” Ben Schreckinger, Politico’s national correspondent, commented on Twitter.