White House is creating a dossier on few journalists, terming them a 'disgrace'

The White House is compiling a "very large" dossier on a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter and other journalists from the organisation. It said these persons were a "disgrace to journalism and the American people."

This development came after The Post requested comment for a Thursday story David Fahrenthold wrote with two colleagues. The story, co-bylined by reporters Josh Dawsey and Joshua Partlow, detailed how US President Donald Trump's company "charged the US government more than $900,000" for hotel rooms fees among other services at Mar-a-Lago.

In a statement, White House spokesperson Judd Deere accused The Washington Post of "blatantly interfering with the business relationships of the Trump Organization" and demanded "it must stop."

He said, "Please be advised that we are building up a very large 'dossier' on the many false David Fahrenthold and others stories as they are a disgrace to journalism and the American people."

Fahrenthold wrote on Twitter that if anyone knows "anything about a dossier the White House has supposedly compiled" on him, to let him know or provide him a copy.

Fahrenthold won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for "casting doubt" on Trump's "generosity toward charities" in his coverage. He has also reported on Trump's businesses.

Last year also, The New York Times reported that allies of the White House had compiled dossiers on hundreds of people who work for top news organisations.