Washington (AFP) – Normally, they are the ones who question the powerful players in Washington. But the situation was reversed on the White House press side.
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A report caused a sensation in the US capital on Friday with its humorous but detailed investigation into widespread theft from the press section of Air Force One, the president’s official plane.
“For years, dozens of journalists – and others – have quietly bagged everything from etched whiskey tumblers to wine glasses to just about anything bearing the Air Force One insignia , before getting off the plane,” Politico reported.
Last month, the White House Correspondents’ Association sent an email to its members, sternly informing them that the missing items from the press box — kept by reporters as souvenirs — had not gone unnoticed.
During his travels, the American president is accompanied by 13 journalists in the back of his Boeing.
The media pays for journalists’ travel on the government plane, as well as meals and drinks served on board.
As souvenirs, the crew distributes small packets of M&M’s chocolates bearing the presidential seal and the signature of the American leader. Air Force One branded eyewear and other accessories are available for purchase online.
But that’s not enough for many on the plane, the Politico report notes, describing the sounds of plates and glasses clinking in journalists’ backpacks as they disembark.
In one case, a former White House correspondent for a major newspaper hosted a dinner, serving food on a set of gold-rimmed Air Force One plates that had been looted over time, according to the report .
But in a city of ambitious wrestlers, at least one reporter heeded the Correspondents’ Association’s reprimands — culminating in the “quiet return” of an embroidered pillowcase after an arranged meeting between the reporter and a senior news official. press in a park across from the White House, Politico said.
“The pillowcase changed hands, and that’s it.”
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