A CBS reporter tried to ask Jared Kushner about Saudi Arabia and Jamal Khashoggi. The Secret Service shut him down.
CBS News correspondent Errol Barnett found himself on the same New York–bound flight as President Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner — both White House employees — on Tuesday evening, and he took the opportunity to ask Kushner a question about Saudi Arabia and the presumed murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Or rather, he tried to ask that question. A Secret Service agent accompanying Kushner blocked Barnett's phone, according to a video of the incident he posted online, and when Barnett showed the agent his press credentials, he said: "I don't give a damn who you are, there's a time and place."
On the CBS Evening News, Barnett explained press-shy Kushner's role as Trump's main envoy to Saudi Arabia — the U.S. doesn't have an ambassador in Riyadh — and centerpiece to Trump's close ties to the Saudi rulers. "The Secret Service officer said to me there is a time and a place for these types of interviews. I have to make the point that it's unclear what time and place that would be to ask Jared Kushner questions."
Blocking a reporter from asking a government employee a question is apparently against Secret Service protocol. In a statement to Olivier Knox, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, the Secret Service said the incident is under review. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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