State Department Bars Press Corps from Pompeo Briefing, Won’t Release List of Attendees
CNN’s Michelle Kosinski and Jennifer Hansler report, “The State Department on Monday said it would not be distributing a transcript or list of attendees from a briefing call with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held that evening — a call from which the department’s press corps was excluded and only ‘faith-based media’ allowed.” The call was to reportedly discuss international religious freedom before the secretary’s trip to the Middle East. Kosinski and Hansler write, “On Tuesday evening, one of the participants shared a transcript of the call with the press corps. That transcript showed that Pompeo faced questions about the Israeli election, terrorism and the omission of the word ‘occupied’ when describing the Golan Heights and the West Bank.”