Carol Lee

Apparently, special counsel Robert Mueller's team is asking witnesses pointed questions about whether Donald Trump was aware that Democratic e-mails had been stolen before that was publicly known, and whether he was involved in their strategic release. Mueller's investigators have asked witnesses whether Trump was aware of plans for WikiLeaks to publish the e-mails. They have also asked about the relationship between GOP operative Roger Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and why President Trump took policy positions favorable to Russia.

[Commentary] The White House Correspondents’ Association is alarmed by the treatment of the press in the 2016 presidential campaign. The public’s right to know is infringed if certain reporters are banned from a candidate's events because the candidate doesn’t like a story they have written or broadcast, as Donald Trump has done. Similarly, refusing to regularly answer questions from reporters in a press conference, as Hillary Clinton has, deprives the American people of hearing from their potential commander-in-chief in a format that is critical to ensuring he or she is accountable for policy positions and official acts.

We believe that whenever media access is restricted, the public’s right to know is restricted. Transparency is the key to a well-informed electorate, and without a well-informed electorate, our democracy is put in jeopardy. We will continue to advocate for more access during this presidential campaign. If we cannot do our job, then the American people cannot do theirs. That’s why we are concerned both with the rhetoric directed at the media in this campaign and the level of press access to the candidates. Both Clinton and Trump can do better.

[Carol Lee, the outgoing president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, is the White House correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Jeff Mason, incoming president of the WHCA, is the White House correspondent for Reuters.]