Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren Throughout the White House press shop, even blockbuster scoops rarely land with much of a surprise — because press aides are often keenly aware of what’s coming, having worked to provide information or, in some cases, to sand down damaging reporting. But last Thursday before 8 a.m., aides were taken aback by Bloomberg’s report on the hostage swap involving 24 individuals — including Wall Street Journal reporter EVAN GERSHKOVICH and Marine veteran PAUL WHELAN — and a half dozen other countries. It wasn’t because they didn’t know it was happening. The administration, in fact, had spent much of the previous day quietly alerting a handful of journalists to what was about to take place — on the condition that the information would remain under embargo and not be reported publicly until the American prisoners had been safely transferred. So when Bloomberg White House reporter JENNIFER JACOBS, who shared a byline on the report with Amsterdam bureau chief CAGAN KOC, declared her “Scoop” in a (since-deleted) post on X, many around the White House had no clue what was going on. “We were all shocked,” one official told West Wing Playbook. Beyond their shared assumption that the WSJ, which had fought for Gershkovich’s release for more than a year, would take the lead on this story, aides also quickly realized the recklessness of breaking the embargo while the prisoners were still in Russian hands. Inside the National Security Council press team, the officials most read in on the details of the exchange and the embargo rules were livid as they scrambled to answer hundreds of calls and make sure no other outlets followed Bloomberg’s lead. On an 8 a.m. press call where NSC officials shared additional details about the swap — under embargo — they also expressed their dismay over the Bloomberg story while urging the journalists listening to stick to the agreed-upon rules. One senior administration official acknowledged that “regrettably,” people were breaking the embargo, which the official repeatedly called “unacceptable" on the call. Noting how the prisoners were at that time still in Russian custody, the official pleaded: “We beseech you all to continue to abide by the agreement.” More than three hours after Bloomberg published its story, the swap concluded without incident. And almost immediately, the Journal’s detailed report on it and dozens of pre-written breaking news reports by other outlets flooded the internet. For the rest of the day, the news was the focus: President JOE BIDEN’s remarks alongside the families at the White House and, hours later, the emotional homecoming on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews. White House officials, some of whom spoke with Bloomberg managers Thursday afternoon, still aren’t clear on exactly what happened. Those who have worked with Jacobs in particular said that the breach seemed out of character for a reporter who pushed hard but was described as being careful not to burn sources. On Friday, however, New York Magazine’s CHARLOTTE KLEIN published a story headlined: “Everybody Is Mad at Bloomberg News for Its Embargo-Breaking Gershkovich-Is-Free Scoop.” And among the White House press corps, everybody was. WSJ’s PAUL BECKETT, who oversaw the newspaper’s effort to free Gershkovich, tweeted the story, as did a number of colleagues. But Jacobs, a hard-charging reporter Bloomberg plucked from the Des Moines Register to cover the 2016 campaign, continued on with her work, traveling to Wilmington, Delaware, to cover a weekend pool shift. On Saturday afternoon, she was shouting questions about Iran to the president as he exited a grocery store. The next night, however, she told administration officials traveling with the president that she needed to swap out of the pool early. She said, according to one person familiar with the conversation, that it was a case of poison ivy. But on Monday morning, Bloomberg editor in chief JOHN MICKLETHWAIT acknowledged in a staff email, obtained by NYT’s KATIE ROBERTSON, that the organization’s standards editor had spent the last few days investigating why it “prematurely” published the story as the swap was still taking place, which he said was “a clear violation” of editorial standards. “We have today taken disciplinary action against a number of those involved,” Micklethwait added. Although he didn’t elaborate, Klein quickly reported that Jacobs had been fired. West Wing Playbook confirmed with three people familiar with the situation that Jacobs’ colleagues were told she was no longer with the company. Once again, aides inside the West Wing were shocked. In private conversations, some expressed empathy for a reporter they knew well who, yes, was aggressive in chasing scoops but who’d never reneged on an embargo or off the record agreement so egregiously. Others, meanwhile, were glad to see someone held accountable for such a major transgression. On Monday afternoon, Jacobs posted a statement to her account on X. “As a journalist, the idea that I would jeopardize the safety of a fellow reporter is deeply upsetting on a level that’s difficult to describe,” she wrote. Adding that she “worked hand in hand” with editors on the story, Jacobs denied any intentional flouting of the White House embargo: “At no time did I do anything that was knowingly inconsistent with the administration’s embargo or that would put anyone involved at risk." Seeming to put some of the responsibility on editors, Jacobs added: “Reporters don’t have the final say over when a story is published or with what headline.” A Bloomberg spokesperson refused to comment on the investigation or disciplinary actions taken. “We take accuracy very seriously,” Micklethwait concluded in his note. “But we also have a responsibility to do the right thing. In this case, we didn’t.” MESSAGE US — Are you RICHARD RUFFNER, director of Oval Office operations? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
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