I wanted to hold those in power accountable and ask the tough questions that brought transparency to the American people and to the world.
But unlike most reporters in DC, I never changed.
I never stopped asking tough questions to get ahead in my career or get invited to fancy DC parties.
And because I do my job, Karine Jean-Pierre singled me out.
She went eight months without calling on me in the White House Briefing Room.
I sent her emails. I went to her office. And I still couldn’t get any answers.
When I finally did get ahold of her (in February 2023), she told me she *might* give me a meeting in 2024.
Because I won’t lob softballs at her, and ask her about Joe Biden’s favorite ice cream, she made it nearly impossible for me to do my job, and not only revoked my White House hard pass but rewrote the requirements for the White House Press Corps, boxing independent journalists like me out of the application process.
This new policy stripped over 400 reporters of their White House hard passes.
The truth is, they don’t want people like me in the Briefing Room, because they don’t want real questions asked.
They want obedient legacy media lapdogs who will repeat their talking points and ignore this Administration’s corruption.
And that’s why I’m suing them.
But this is no small undertaking, so I’m turning to patriots like you in the hopes that you’ll help me fund my lawsuit.
I don’t have an established corporation like CNN or The New York Times behind me, or a giant team of lawyers on retainer.
And that’s probably why the White House thought they could get away with this…
They didn’t think anyone like me could fight back.
But praise God, the attorneys at the Center for American Liberty have taken on my case.
They depend entirely on donations from freedom fighters like you to fund these legal battles, and I hope you’ll give a generous, tax-deductible gift today.
Other reporters have called me “disruptive” – and that’s fine by me.
My job isn’t to become friends with Karine Jean-Pierre or to be liked by my colleagues (who think their job is to become friends with Karine) – my job is to pursue the truth.
Journalists are supposed to make the people in power uncomfortable.
We’re supposed to press them, to challenge them, to deliver critical information to the world.
In the climate that we’re in, with the current Administration and press corps, a real journalist has no choice but to be disruptive.
If you want people in the Briefing Room like me, who care more about our journalistic duties than how popular we are in Washington, I urge you to give a generous, tax-deductible donation to the Center for American Liberty to advance my lawsuit against Karine Jean-Pierre.
This Administration wants to destroy our First Amendment – and you and I are all that’s standing in their way.
Please join me in this fight.
Sincerely,
Simon Ateba