The MSM is suddenly getting treated the rest of us, now that a second term is locked up, and their services are no longer needed.
Because inauguration day falls on a Sunday in 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts will officially administer the official oath of office in a private ceremony that day. The public inauguration on the Capitol Building’s West Front — at which Roberts will administer a second, symbolic oath of office — will take place the next day.
In early meetings with the inaugural committee, officials privately indicated to reporters that the Jan. 20 event could be closed to reporters and cameras, with an official photograph supplied to press by White House photographer Pete Souza, sources familiar with the meeting told POLITICO.
Fears of such a scenario were reignited this week when the Presidential Inauguration Committee sent out a press release referring to a “private” inauguration.
Both the White House and the PIC note that “private” simply means the event is not open to the public and that press arrangements have not been formalized.
”There is no truth to any rumors that decisions have been made about media access to this year’s Inaugural events,” Rachel Racusen, a spokesperson for the PIC, told POLITICO. “The 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced its launch yesterday and is just beginning its planning. Any announcements about media access and credentials will be made in the coming weeks.”
The White House press corps acknowledges that nothing is set in stone. But even the possibility of a closed-press inauguration has stirred up immense frustration among the White House press corps, who note that past Sunday inaugurations were open to press.
“Call me shell-shocked. I’m stunned that this is even an issue; it boggles the mind,” NBC News White House correspondent Chuck Todd told POLITICO. “This is not their oath, this is the constitutional oath. It’s not for them. It’s for the public, the citizens of the United Sates. It just boggles the mind — How is this even a debate?”
Adorable how Chuck Todd is suddenly worried about things like this, now that they affect him. Perhaps he will now act like a real reporter, and ask more difficult questions of this Administration.
