WASHINGTON – A White House press official was banned for a week without pay on Friday, the government announced, after a report detailed allegations that he verbally harassed and threatened a female Politico reporter.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on Friday that Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo had been suspended for a week without pay following a report from Vanity Fair that said Ducklo had threatened the reporter after hearing that Politico was planning an article to publish about his relationship with a reporter at Axios.
Ducklo, a former employee in the communications department of NBC News, is expected to return to work after the suspension. Ducklo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Joe Biden campaigned to restore respect and courtesy to the White House, regularly criticizing the behavior of the previous president and his staff, including the way the press was treated.
“I’m not kidding when I say this: if you ever work with me and I hear that you are disrespectful to another colleague, talk to someone down and I promise I’ll fire you on the spot. No ifs or buts, ”Biden said during a virtual swearing-in of appointees in his first week in office.
People magazine reported this month that Ducklo is dating Alexi McCammond, a reporter at Axios who also contributes to NBC and MSNBC, in an article that was tweeted approvingly by several top White House officialsPolitico then reported that it had informed the White House that it intended to publish an article shortly before the article appeared in People magazine.
Vanity Fair reported that Ducklo called Tara Palmeri, a Politico reporter, and threatened her when he learned that Politico was planning to publish an article.
The Vanity Fair article said Ducklo made “derogatory and misogynistic comments” against Palmeri and threatened to “destroy” her.
Psaki said Ducklo would no longer be assigned to Politico reporters once he returned from suspension.
TJ Ducklo has apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life. He is the first to acknowledge that this is not the standard of conduct set by the president, “Psaki said in a statement. tweet“In addition to his initial apology, he sent the reporter a personal message expressing deep regret.”
“I take this very seriously,” Psaki told reporters Friday afternoon. “He [Ducklo] is the first to recognize that this is neither the standard of conduct set forth by the president nor the standard of conduct set by me. “
Psaki said that while she did not apologize for Ducklo’s behavior, the story he discussed with the Politico reporter was about his personal life and not White House policies. Psaki acknowledged that the White House is not immediately suspending Ducklo after learning of the incident, but rather after they were made aware of the Vanity Fair article.
Psaki said she had not discussed Ducklo’s behavior directly with Biden, but addressed it with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
When asked how female reporters outside of Politico would feel comfortable working with Ducklo when he returns, Psaki reiterated that Ducklo’s behavior was “completely unacceptable” and that she had been clear “this will never happen again and will not be here. are tolerated. in the White House. “
