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White House uses doctored video to justify stripping CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed Jim Acosta attacked an aide trying to take the mic from him.

A White House aide attempts to grab a microphone from CNN reporter Jim Acosta's hands during a press conference. The White House has since issued an allegedly doctored video of the live broadcast, accusing Acosta of assaulting the woman. Original footage does not support their claim. (PHOTO CREDIT: Fox News, screengrab)
A White House aide attempts to grab a microphone from CNN reporter Jim Acosta's hands during a press conference. The White House has since issued an allegedly doctored video of the live broadcast, accusing Acosta of assaulting the woman. Original footage does not support their claim. (PHOTO CREDIT: Fox News, screengrab)

The White House revoked CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s hard pass Wednesday evening, after President Trump berated him as a “rude, terrible person” at a press conference earlier in the day. Acosta said he had also been banned from White House grounds.

Within hours, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders began twisting the story, claiming the White House would not tolerate a reporter “placing his hands on a young woman,” referring to an aide who had tried to pull a microphone from Acosta’s hands during the press conference.

Video of the incident clearly shows the aide in question attempting to yank the mic away multiple times, as Acosta tries to finish asking a question. “Pardon me, ma’am,” he he can be heard saying on the third attempt, as the two make brief contact.

Paul Joseph Watson, editor-at-large for the conspiracy site Infowars, later posted what appeared to be a slightly doctored version of the video. Unlike the original clip, it appears to show Acosta forcing his hand down on the aide’s arm:

Sanders later appeared to share the doctored video on her own Twitter timeline, using it to justify the White House decision to pull Acosta’s credentials.

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“We stand by our decision to revoke this individual’s hard pass,” she wrote. “We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video.”

Numerous video editors have since weighed in with their own expertise on Twitter, demonstrating how the video Sanders shared could have been doctored. The Indepedent’s analysis of the doctored editing describes the video as being frozen for three frames the moment before Acosta’s hand comes down on the aide’s arm.

Watson, for his part, denies that he “sped up the footage,” claiming that all that he did was zoom in on the original video. He credited another conservative site, The Daily Wire, as his source for the footage.

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Acosta has since responded to Sanders’ claims, calling them a blatant lie. Many other reporters who were present to witness the encounter have backed his account as well.

CNN stood by Acosta, issuing a statement Wednesday night accusing Sanders of having “provided fraudulent accusations and cit[ing] an incident that never happened.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association also condemned the White House’s decision to revoke Acosta’s access, urging it to “immediately reverse this weak and misguided action.”