The U.S. Senate Daily Press Gallery officially denied Breitbart News congressional press passes on Monday, over concerns about their relationship with a Republican mega-donor and a conservative nonprofit organization.
The standing committee of correspondents representing the Gallery want the right-wing media company to divulge the details of its entire relationship with Rebekah Mercer, a Donald Trump supporter and campaign contributor whose family owns an unspecified percentage of Breitbart News.
In addition, there are concerns over two employees…Senior Editor Peter Schweizer and Managing Editor Wynton Hall, and their affiliation with conservative nonprofit Government Accountability Institute.
The committee has reportedly asked Breitbart CEO Larry Solov to clarify White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon’s involvement in the news site.
Bannon formerly served as Breitbart’s executive chairman before joining Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
But according to Buzzfeed, Solov’s response raised more concerns.
Solov reportedly told committee members that in addition to himself, Breitbart is owned by founder Andrew Breitbart’s widow Susie Breitbart, and unspecified members of the Mercer family.
But new applicants for congressional press passes are required to reveal if they are financially tied to special interest organizations, regardless of their ideology or political leanings.
Solov also told them that Peter Schweizer, Breitbart’s senior editor-at-large, and Raheem Kassam, a managing editor, are both linked to the Government Accountability Institute, which Bannon co-founded with Schweizer in 2012.
Breitbart often writes articles about reports from the Government Accountability Institute to create news stories pandering to a specific audience.
The committee asked Breitbart officials to provide the requested information by April 18, but will continue to have access via temporary two-month passes.
