Does Hillary Clinton Have A 'Deal' To Avoid The Press?
Clinton, a former secretary of state, spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations Thursday. Though she took questions from CFR President Richard Haass and council members at the event including billionaire editor and publisher Mort Zuckerman. However, Clinton did not take queries from reporters who were seated in the audience's press section. A spokesperson for CFR told Business Insider any member of the group, including journalists, were allowed to ask questions during the event.
"All members of the Council on Foreign Relations may ask questions at meetings regardless of their profession," CFR Vice President of Communications Lisa Shields said.
However, Clinton apparently wasn't willing to take questions from reporters who were not members of the group. After the event, Business Insider attempted to ask Clinton for her thoughts on Secretary of State John Kerry's comments warning Israel could become an "apartheid" state. She said she had a "deal" not to take questions.
"I'm not answering questions. That was the deal that I made, I'm sorry," Clinton said.
As part of the rollout, Clinton is appearing at events, holding book signings, and giving interviews to broadcast networks and major radio stations. However, her events was also limited at Clinton's first book signing Wednesday, which led to griping among reporters that some termed a "media mutiny."
Business Insider reached out to Team Clinton Thursday to ask whether they made deals to restrict media appearances at events and whether or not Clinton had an event with open press access or a media briefing on her schedule. Spokespeople for Clinton did not respond to multiple requests for comment.