President Donald Trump scored a big win Wednesday evening after Politico agreed to correct a story about White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles following a 48-hour ultimatum.
Politico corrected a story that claimed Wiles was responsible for coordinating an interview between Fox News host Sean Hannity and then-White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, Mediaite reported.
“CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report, including its headline, mischaracterized the role White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played in then-press secretary Katie Zacharia’s interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News,” the update read.
“POLITICO’s follow-up reporting indicates she did not play a direct role in setting up the interview.”
Zacharia’s interview with Hannity was widely seen as the last nail in the coffin that ended her historically short run behind the press podium.
Trump’s counsel, William Scharf, sent a letter to Politico’s Global Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger on Monday, highlighting inaccuracies in the outlet’s reporting.
“Between October 14-17, Politico published a series of demonstrably false and defamatory articles in an apparent effort to manufacture a narrative of dysfunction and infighting in the White House. These publications reflect far more than sloppy reporting or an unfortunate, inadvertent reliance on unreliable sources,” he wrote.
“They instead reveal a disturbing pattern of the publication of sensational falsehoods despite direct, on-the-record refutations from senior White House officials and even the President of the United States himself, as well as documentary evidence provided to Politico, all of which established clearly that claims central to Politico’s planned reporting were false,” Scharf continued.
“Put simply, your publication was told the truth and presented with corroborating evidence, and yet chose to publish fanciful fiction regardless.”
He went on to write that this “raises serious questions” about the outlet’s “adherence to the most basic standards of ethics, journalistic integrity, and the standards of professionalism expected of serious news publications.”
The White House counsel accused Politico of knowingly disregarding the truth and hiding “behind anonymous sources when confronted.”
“I therefore demand that Politico retract these defamatory articles and issue corrections promptly, or face the consequences,” he declared. “Freedom of the press is not a professional exemption from accountability.”
He ended the letter by demanding that “Politico immediately correct or retract these publications, issue a prominent and public apology to the President of the United States and to Ms. Wiles, and remove the false reporting from your digital archives.”
“Failure to do so or otherwise respond justifying Politico’s publications within 48 hours will prompt an immediate review of Politico’s relationship with the White House, and, of course, consideration of all other appropriate and available legal remedies,” Scharf added.
The Trump administration’s relationship with Politico has been turbulent as of late, to say the least.
Earlier this year, Politico was banned from the White House, along with CNN and MS NOW, but the outlets were granted temporary relief from a federal judge as the case makes its way through the courts.
This also isn’t the first time Trump has scored a major victory against the mainstream media.
Last year, the president reached a settlement with CBS parent company Paramount for $16 million after the outlet’s deceptive editing of a Kamala Harris interview on “60 Minutes” during the 2024 election cycle.
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He received a $15 million payout from ABC News after suing the network and host George Stephanopoulos in 2024, after the anchor repeatedly stated that Trump had been found “liable for rape.”
Additionally, in January 2025, the commander in chief reached a settlement with Meta for roughly $25 million due to the suspension of his social media accounts.
Most of the money from these cases will go to fund Trump’s future presidential library, with the remainder being used to cover legal fees.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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