Stunning, CBS White House Reporter Roasts Jim Acosta’s Behavior

Many reporters stuck together when CNN and its reporter Jim Acosta took The White House to court after it revoked his press credentials.

But there is one notable exception to that and it is from an unlikely source.

CNN reporter Major Garrett told Mediaite that there is an unwritten code of conduct for White House reporters and Acosta did not follow those unwritten rules.

CBS White House correspondent Major Garrett says he disagrees with how CNN’s Jim Acosta conducted himself in last week’s explosive tete-a-tete with President Trump.

Garrett spoke to Mediaite alum Larry O’Connor for his radio show on Friday, where he lamented the situation over CNN’s lawsuit against the Trump Administration for their revocation of Acosta’s press credentials. Garrett said he isn’t sure the White House will succeed in court with their legal argument their making against Acosta, though the lawsuit is “uncharted territory” in many ways and presents the judiciary with many new questions about press freedom.

The court has since ruled in favor of CNN and said Acosta’s press pass must be restored.

As Garrett talked about how he doesn’t make a habit of critiquing the journalistic styles of other reporters, O’Connor eventually asked him if there’s a “standard of conduct” that’s expected from the White House press pool. Garrett answered in the affirmative, and he recalled how he gave up the microphone at Trump’s latest presser after mistakenly thinking the president called upon him.

“Some of my colleagues might say ‘what did you do that for,’” Garrett said. “Some might say you laid down and were too deferential, I don’t feel that way…I deferred hoping he might call on me again, he didn’t, that’s how I orient myself to the institution…and I respect the institution and the country’s choice.”

In terms of whether Acosta’s actions were a breach of the code of conduct O’Connor asked about, Garrett said there was a point there, adding “I do my level best to not make myself part of story, and I think the best journalists operate that way.”

CNN and Acosta won a victory on Friday when a judge issued an order to restore his press pass, CNN reported.

CNN’s Jim Acosta has returned to his post at the White House following a court ruling that forced the Trump administration to reinstate his press pass.

Now President Trump is vowing to create “rules and regulations” for how White House reporters act. He says “you have to practice decorum” at the White House.

“It’s not a big deal,” Trump told Fox News in an interview on Friday. “What they said, though, is that we have to create rules and regulations for conduct, etcetera. We’re going to write them up. It’s not a big deal. If he misbehaves, we’ll throw him out or we’ll stop the news conference.”

Friday’s ruling by federal judge Timothy J. Kelly was an initial victory for CNN in its lawsuit against Trump and several top aides. The suit alleges that CNN and Acosta’s First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated by last week’s suspension of his press pass.

But the judge said that it was a temporary decision and did not address whether Acosta has a Constitutional right to the pass.

He also said that The White House is within its rights to never call on him for questions.

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