The White House on Friday suspended a press official who allegedly threatened to “ destroy ” a reporter working on a story about his relationship with another journalist.
Deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo was suspended for a week, without pay, after Vanity Fair reported telling Politico’s Tara Palmeri he would “destroy” her for writing about his relationship with Axios reporter Alexi McCammond.
Vanity Fair reported Friday that in a conversation with Palmeri, who previously covered the White House as a correspondent for ABC News, Ducklo had made “derogatory and misogynistic comments” – including accusing her of being “jealous” of his relationship. “I will destroy you,” he told Palmeri, according to the magazine, which quoted anonymous sources.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Ducklo’s suspension Friday after Vanity Fair’s piece was published, calling Ducklo’s behavior “completely unacceptable.”
At a press conference on Friday, Psaki did not dispute any of the allegations reported by the magazine, including when she was later asked by ABC News. She told reporters that White House communications director Kate Bedingfield had apologized to a Politico editor “immediately after” the conversation between Ducklo and Palmeri.
Palmeri declined to comment. Politico editor-in-chief Matt Kaminski and editor Carrie Budoff Brown said in a statement that they “expressed our concerns about the incident directly to the White House at the time.”
“No journalist at Politico – or any other publication or network – should ever be exposed to such unwarranted personal attacks while carrying out his job,” they said. “Politico reporters and editors are committed to forging a professional and transparent relationship with public office holders and their staff and expect the same in return.”
Politico wrote Tuesday morning about Ducklo being in a relationship with McCammond and how her employer, Axios, had handled the ethically troubled relationship.
The piece followed a flattering article about the relationship published by People the night before with the headline, “Reporter Forgoes Covering President as Romance Blossoms with Biden Aide Battling Cancer.” Ducklo has been treated for lung cancer, and several of his White House colleagues shared the story on Twitter.
On his first day of work, President Joe Biden set a high standard for his employees as he swore to them.
“I’m not kidding when I say this,” Biden said. “If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague disrespectfully, talk to someone and I promise I’ll fire you on the spot – on the spot. No ifs, ones or buts. Everyone – everyone – has entitled to decent and dignified treatment. “
Psaki told reporters that she had made the decision to punish Ducklo – with the approval of White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain – and that she had not discussed it with Biden. She called it an “important step” and said, “I take this very seriously.”
Ducklo, whose duties include answering reporters’ questions about COVID-19, health care and politics, had apologized to Palmeri “quite shortly after the comments were made” and again in writing, ”Psaki said. that he wouldn’t be assigned to work again with Politico reporters.
“He had a heated conversation about a story related to his personal life,” said Psaki. “I’m not saying this is acceptable, but I just want to be clear that it wasn’t about a White House-related issue or a White House policy or anything like that. He’s the first to acknowledge that This is not so. The standard of conduct set forth by the President, nor is the standard of conduct set by me, and I am his immediate supervisor. “
A reporter pointed out to Psaki that the White House had been aware of the interaction for weeks, but had only suspended Ducklo after Vanity Fair reported it. She said the reporter was “right,” but noted that the White House considered it “appropriate at the time” to speak privately with Politico “immediately after the conversation took place.”
When asked how the week-long suspension was in line with Biden’s threat on day one, Psaki said only that Ducklo’s behavior “falls short of the president’s standard.”
“It was important that we took a step to make that clear,” she said. “And that included not only an apology direct from him, and apologies direct from us at the highest levels there, but also a step to suspend him for a week without payment. that we don’t find it acceptable. “