When the White House took control of the so-called “press pool” that accompanies the president, journalists worried that the Trump administration would use that power to punish news outlets.

The president sued the publication last week, accusing it of defamation for an article about his ties to the disgraced former financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The White House is citing the Wall Street Journal’s “fake and defamatory conduct” in its reporting on President Donald Trump’s