DIRTY POLITICS
WHITE House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo has been suspended for threatening to "destroy" a reporter who asked about his fling with a journalist.
Press secretary said on Friday that Ducklo’s conduct was “completely unacceptable."
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has been suspended for a week without pay after he reportedly issued a sexist and profane threat to a journalist seeking to cover his relationship with another reporter.
Psaki said while she had not spoken about the incident with President Joe Biden, Ducklo and aides “at the highest levels” of the White House’s communications team had apologized for it.
“No one wants anyone to feel uncomfortable, to be put in an uncomfortable position,” she added.
Psaki said in a statement earlier Friday that Ducklo had been suspended without pay with the approval of White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
She said Ducklo “is the first to acknowledge this is not the standard of behavior set out” by , and that Ducklo had sent the reporter in question “a personal note professing his profound regret.”
Despite the embarrassing incident, Biden hasn't fired him over the fling.
On his first day in office, the new president warned hundreds of political appointees at their swearing-in: “I’m not joking when I say this: If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts.”
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Ducklo’s personal life earlier this week when Politico revealed his relationship with a reporter for the news outlet Axios, Alexi McCammond.
The latter was assigned to cover the Biden campaign and its transition.
People Magazine then published a glowing profile of their relationship - the first time either one had publicly acknowledged it.
On Friday, published a report citing two unnamed sources that Ducklo had threatened Politico reporter Tara Palmeri in an attempt to suppress the story, warning her “I will destroy you".
Palmeri came under fire while assigned to write about his romance with McCammond.
Ducklo is alleged to have warned: "I will destroy you" after she quizzed him about their relationship.
He's also alleged to have accused the journo of being jealous of McCammond because a past male wanted to 'f***' his partner - instead of her.
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Psaki, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield and Anita Dunn, director of West Wing operations, were all reportedly involved in conversations with Politico editors about the incident.
Psaki said that when Ducklo returns, he won’t be assigned to work with any Politico reporters.
He has since apologized for his aggressive behaviour.
Psaki said: "TJ Ducklo has apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life.
"He is the first to acknowledge this is not the standard of behaviour set out by the president.
"In addition to his initial apology, he has sent the reporter a personal note expressing his profound regret."
But journalists were annoyed with the response, given Biden's promise to maintain high standards in the wake of Donald Trump's adversarial relationship with the press.
CNN White House reporter Kaitlan Collins told Psaki: "It wasn't just a hostile conversation.
"I think we've all probably have plenty of those and vice versa, those happen.
"But you know the language that he is alleged to have used according to this report - it is arguably or even not arguably sexist.
"So, what are you doing to deal with that part of it?"
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Psaki replied: It's completely unacceptable. He knows that - I've had conversations with him about that."
Both Trump and his lead spokespeople would frequently pick fights with, and lob personal attacks at reporters from behind the podium.
But the sought to strike a more cordial and professional tone with the Washington press corps from the start, installing a cadre of seasoned Washington communicators led by Psaki.
On her first day behind the podium, Psaki told reporters, "I have deep respect for the role of a free and independent press in our democracy and for the role all of you play."
"There will be moments when we disagree," Psaki added back in January, "but we have a common goal, which is sharing accurate information with the American people."
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Biden offered his own standard for the conduct he expects from his staff in comments he made during a virtual swearing-in with staff the day he was sworn in.
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Confronted with those comments from the president, Psaki reiterated that Ducklo’s conduct "doesn’t meet our standards, it doesn’t meet the president’s standard, and it was important that we took a step to make that clear."
The apologies offered by her team, along with Ducklo’s weeklong suspension, were "an important step to send the message that we don’t find it acceptable," Psaki added.
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