Rogue reporter breaks Trump White House rule against live recordings

At least one member of the White House press corps has started to rebel against the Trump administration.

Since June 29, the White House has banned reporters from taking live audio or video recordings during press briefings — but one reporter, Ksenija Pavlovic, defied the ban Wednesday, using the Periscope app to livestream audio of the day’s press briefing.

This is believed to be the first time that a White House journalist has defied the Trump administration’s rules against live recordings.

Pavlovic, who runs the news site “Pavlovic Today” and used to be a political science teaching fellow for Yale, tweeted links to two recordings, which together totaled 48 minutes. While the sound quality isn’t great, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders can be heard introducing Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short to the room, before taking questions.

Reporters have grumbled about the White House’s rules against live recordings — in fact, even as Pavlovic livestreamed, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith reminded viewers, “It’s the White House rules, not ours.” CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta also tweeted last month, “There is a suppression of information going on at this WH that would not be tolerated at a city council [meeting] or press [conference] with a state gov.”

Still, reporters have respected the White House’s rules and instead aired delayed versions of the press briefings.