On Monday morning, the Standing Committee of the Senate Press Gallery denied Breitbart’s request for permanent press credentials for Capitol Hill, stating that they needed “more answers” before considering the right-wing website’s request again. The committee discussed a request letter sent to them by Breitbart’s Larry Solov late Thursday that was said to show White House chief strategist Steve Bannon had severed ties from Breitbart as of November. Beyond the letter (embedded below), which presented a “Word.doc” masthead of Breitbart, a committee member pointed out that beyond “us trusting Larry” there was no other evidence that Bannon had in fact completely cut himself off from the site he previously ran. The committee expressed frustration that the letter from Solov was sent “late Thursday” when the deadline was Friday morning. Other details and clarification the committee will seek from Breitbart are the fuller explanations of roles of people on the masthead, explanation of any of their roles on other Bannon-related projects (Glittering Steel production company, Government Accountability Institute), clarification on news reports that Rebekah Mercer is involved in Breitbart editorial decisions, and more information on the location of Breitbart’s office. For now Breitbart staffers will continue to receive temporary passes. The next committee meeting on the matter of granting or denying permanent passes is scheduled for April 25, with a deadline for Breitbart submitting new requested information on April 14.
—Asawin Suebsaeng
