Story perspectives

Obama Didn’t Ban Fox News From Briefings, Earnest Says

By Drooid · Sep 23, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. former President Barack Obama did not ban Fox News from White House briefings.
In October 2009, the Treasury temporarily omitted Fox correspondent Major Garrett from a Kenneth Feinberg interview.
After Fox protested, the Treasury reinstated Garrett to the interview.
White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said there was no plot to exclude Fox and it received equal access.

History

Historical Context

An 8-0 Supreme Court decision in United States v. Nixon (1974) ordered President Richard Nixon to release the Watergate tapes, establishing that credentialed journalists—including Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein—could compel access. The precedent guided the 2009 Treasury exclusion of Fox News correspondent Major Garrett, which White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended by citing the same equal-access rule.

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Story summary

U.S. former President Barack Obama did not ban Fox News from White House briefings.
In October 2009, the Treasury temporarily omitted Fox correspondent Major Garrett from a Kenneth Feinberg interview.
After Fox protested, the Treasury reinstated Garrett to the interview.
White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said there was no plot to exclude Fox and it received equal access.

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