The White House counsel's office issued a warning to Politico on Monday, giving the news organization 48 hours to retract or correct recent stories about staff drama or face unspecified consequences. The deadline expires Thursday.
White House Counsel Will Scharf directed the letter to Jonathan Greenberger, Politico's global editor in chief. Scharf cited three specific reports concerning White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles that he characterized as false despite contrary evidence provided by senior staff and President Donald Trump. The administration argues that Politico has failed to correct these publications and instead declined to remove Wiles from one story because she served as the narrative hook.
The first disputed report appeared on October 15 in Politico Playbook, which stated that Trump was considering replacing Wiles. Trump labeled the story fake news. A follow-up piece on October 16 claimed the initial report caused a significant reaction from the president. A White House spokesman described that second report as unbelievably stupid and false.
The third story, also dated October 16, suggested that Wiles arranged a Fox News interview for outgoing press secretary Katie Zacharia in a manner intended to cause her to fail. Both the White House and Fox News denied this account. Prior to publication, White House officials provided text messages to Politico showing that Zacharia, not Wiles, had set up the interview. The New York Post reported on those text messages the following day.
Scharf stated that freedom of the press does not exempt media organizations from accountability. He demanded that Politico immediately correct or retract the publications, issue a public apology to Trump and Wiles, and remove the reporting from its digital archives. The counsel warned that if these steps are not taken, the White House will conduct an immediate review of its relationship with Politico and consider all available legal remedies.
A Politico spokesperson did not return a message seeking comment on the letter. White House officials attributed the conflict to new management at Politico, accusing them of pushing reporters toward gossip-peddling. Relations between the administration and major news outlets remain strained; Trump has previously banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the Oval Office and Air Force One. A federal judge restored their access to White House grounds on October 13, though CNN has threatened legal action to regain specific access rights.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X on Saturday that Politico is a foreign entity designed to interfere in American politics. Some advisers outside the administration noted that officials may be positioning Politico as a malign foreign influence due to its ownership by German company Axel Springer. While Scharf did not specify the exact consequences in his letter, a White House official described all options as being on the table and characterized Trump's counsel as uncharacteristically enraged.