Clinton Campaign Denied Access to David Martosko, Political Editor of Britain's Daily Mail

A closed, insular and obstructionist campaign is going to flail in the increasing and sustained spotlight of the presidential campaign trail. You'd think the Clintons, political veterans if there ever were any, would know this.

At London's Daily Mail, "Hillary Clinton campaign denies access to DailyMail.com political editor as Monday's pool reporter in New Hampshire" (at Memeorandum):

The Clinton campaign denied access to the designated print pool reporter in New Hampshire this morning.

David Martosko of DailyMail.com was told by Hillary for New Hampshire staffer Meredith Thatcher that he was not approved for Monday's pooled events.

When Martosko asked Thatcher to phone her boss, Harrell Kirstein, he was again told that he had not been approved by the campaign.

Martosko pressed further and asked Thatcher if he was being prohibited from getting on either of the pool vans, to which she replied; 'I'm afraid that's right.'

When he asked why, she responded; 'All I know is what Harrell has told me. I got an email saying the print pooler would be changed for today. Sorry.'

Martosko then spoke with Clinton press aide Nick Merrill for 10 minutes and learned that the campaign would not be allowing the designated print reporter to cover Mrs. Clinton today.

Merrill offered varied and contradictory reasons for this decision.

First he confirmed that the concern had to do with the Daily Mail’s status as foreign press, saying; 'We’ve been getting a lot of blowback from foreign outlets that want to be part of the pool and we need to rethink it all, maybe for a day, and just cool things off until we can have a discussion.'

Martosko then informed Merrill that the Guardian is part of the pool, and that the pool does not discriminate on the basis of media ownership.

Merrill said that the campaign’s position is that the Daily Mail does not qualify because it has not yet been added to the White House’s regular print pool – something Martosko informed him was a timing issue, not a White House choice, since Francesca Chambers, the Mail's White House correspondent, has been vetted and has a hard pass.

'We’re just trying to follow the same process and system the White House has,' said Merrill.

Merrill then insisted that the decision had 'nothing to do' with the campaign considering the Daily Mail foreign press.
'We don’t consider you foreign press,' he said.

Merill then added; 'This isn’t about you. It’s about a larger...' and did not continue his sentence...

"About the larger" what? About the larger critical coverage at the Daily Mail? Well, we wouldn't want to throw the Clinton coronation of track, now would we?

Or maybe "the larger" issue is that Martosko is conservative. Martosko a former executive editor at the Daily Caller, the right-wing media shop owned by Tucker Carlson.

Yeah, that might have something to do with it. The Clinton campaign's showing its ideological discrimination and bigotry against conservative journalist. Who'd have thunk it?!!

More at Memorandum and Politico.

New statement from Hillary press sec: "We have been working to create an equitable system…” (see last update) http://t.co/i16VjQfgJU

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) June 15, 2015