Sticky-fingered journalists on Air Force One get put on notice

Washington DC - Normally they're the ones grilling political power players, but the tables have been turned on the White House press corps after new stealing allegations emerged!

Normally they're the ones grilling political power players, but the tables have been turned on the White House press corps after new stealing allegations emerged!
Normally they're the ones grilling political power players, but the tables have been turned on the White House press corps after new stealing allegations emerged!  © Brendan Smialowski / AFP

A news report made waves on Friday in the nation's capitol with a humorous yet detailed investigation into rampant theft from the press section of Air Force One, the president's official plane.

"For years, scores of journalists – and others – have quietly stuffed everything from engraved whiskey tumblers to wine glasses to pretty much anything with the Air Force One insignia on it into their bag before stepping off the plane," Politico reported.

Last month, the White House Correspondents' Association sent an email to its members issuing a stern notice that missing items from the press cabin – kept by reporters as memorabilia – had not gone unnoticed.

Trump loses it over hush money trial witness in quickly-deleted post that risks violating gag order
Donald Trump Trump loses it over hush money trial witness in quickly-deleted post that risks violating gag order

When President Joe Biden travels, he is accompanied by 13 journalists in the back of his Boeing.

Media outlets pay for the journalists to fly on the government plane, along with the meals and drinks served in-flight.

The crew distributes souvenirs in the form of small M&M chocolate packages bearing the presidential seal and the leader's signature. Glasses and other Air Force One-branded accessories are available for purchase online.

But that is not good enough for many of those aboard the plane, Politico's report noted, describing the sounds of plates and glassware clinking in journalists' backpacks as they disembark.

White House correspondent clandestinely returns pillowcase after online scolding

In one instance, a former White House correspondent for a major newspaper allegedly hosted a dinner party serving food on a set of gold-rimmed Air Force One plates that had been pilfered over time.

But in a town of ambitious strivers, at least one journalist reportedly heeded the scolding from the correspondents' association – culminating in the "discreet return" of an embroidered pillowcase after a meeting was arranged between the reporter and a press official in a park across from the White House.

"The pillowcase changed hands," Politico said. "And that was that."

Cover photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

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