Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office rejected a request from the ABC to allow its Washington bureau chief John Lyons to attend a press conference alongside Donald Trump, days after he fronted a Four Corners investigation into the president’s personal finances.
Lyons is not on the list to attend the Oval Office. The ABC’s Canberra-based national affairs correspondent Jane Norman is expected to be present. The ABC is still lobbying for Lyons’ entry to the meeting after Trump clashed with the public broadcaster’s most senior reporter in the US capital last month, saying he was going to “tell [Albanese] about you”.
Donald Trump speaks to journalists during his testy confrontation with the ABC’s John Lyons.Credit: AP
It is unclear why several requests by the ABC for Lyons to attend the Oval Office media event were rejected, though sources close to the prime minister’s office suggested it was only for capacity reasons and places in the press pool would favour travelling reporters from Canberra.
Lyons, the ABC’s Americas editor, asked Trump a series of questions about his personal business dealings since returning as president, as part of a Four Corners investigation that aired last Monday. Trump responded by saying Lyons’ questions were “hurting Australia”.
Usually, the press pack list for the Oval Office is determined by the White House, unless it is related to a visiting head of state or prime minister, which is then left to the office of that nation’s leader, in this case, Albanese’s office.
The prime minister’s office informed the ABC late last week that the broadcaster’s several requests to get Lyons into the room had been rejected, ABC sources familiar with the decision said.
While it is not always the case that the ABC’s Washington bureau chief is given entry into the Oval Office press conference, they have attended on several occasions in the past. Norman, who is part of the travelling press pack, was approved by the prime minister’s office, as was each of the other Australia-based travelling journalists.
John Lyons pictured during his Four Corners investigation with Trump in the background.Credit: ABC
In this instance, the press pool numbers were determined by the White House. About 12 to 14 spots were made available. The meeting will take place on Monday local time.
After the exchange on the White House Lawn in September, an official White House social media account later posted the exchange with the title “Trump ’smacks down a rude foreign Fake News loser”.
A spokesman from the prime minister’s office declined to comment.
Lyons declined to comment. The ABC was approached for a comment.
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