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US Treasury Bars Journalists from G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting in North Carolina
🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

US Treasury Bars Journalists from G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting in North Carolina

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The US Treasury Department denied accreditation to journalists from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg for the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.
  • Bloomberg and The New York Times said the restrictions undermined press freedom and public accountability, while the Treasury cited journalists’ responsibility to provide factual information.
  • Germany’s delegation said it intervened on behalf of the journalists, securing access for a New York Times correspondent but not for Bloomberg.

Several major news organizations were denied access to the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, leaving Bloomberg and The New York Times with limited ability to cover the talks. The US Treasury Department, which is hosting the two-day meeting, refused accreditation to journalists from those outlets and The Wall Street Journal, the organizations said.

The denial of access undermines press freedom and public accountability.

— Bloomberg NewsThe news organization criticized the Treasury Department’s accreditation decision.

Bloomberg News said the decision “undermines press freedom and public accountability” and vowed to continue pressing for unrestricted access. The New York Times said reporters who had covered similar meetings for years were excluded in what it described as an attempt to avoid public scrutiny.

The Treasury said nearly 300 media representatives were expected at the meeting. It also said access to decision-makers carried a responsibility to distribute factual information in line with established journalistic standards.

The exclusion was an attempt to evade public scrutiny.

— The New York TimesThe newspaper characterized the decision to exclude experienced reporters.

Germany’s delegation, accompanying Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, was also reportedly affected by accreditation problems. According to dpa, Klingbeil’s ministry asked the US government to admit New York Times and Bloomberg journalists. A Berlin-based New York Times correspondent was initially rejected but later received accreditation. Efforts to secure access for Bloomberg failed, despite intervention by the German government at a high diplomatic level.

With access to decision-makers comes the responsibility to disseminate factual information in line with established journalistic standards.

— US Treasury DepartmentThe department explained the standards it expected from accredited journalists.

Klingbeil’s delegation called the treatment of an international news agency unprecedented and unacceptable. The report placed the dispute within a wider pattern of efforts by US President Donald Trump since the start of his second term to restrict critical media coverage.

The US Treasury Department’s treatment of an international news agency is unprecedented and, from the federal government’s perspective, unacceptable.

— Lars Klingbeil’s delegationThe German delegation condemned the failure to secure Bloomberg’s accreditation.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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