CNN's Stelter Rips Colleague for 'Unprofessional Conduct'

CNN host Brian Stelter ripped his colleague for "clearly unprofessional contact" during a spat with conservative pundit Sebastian Gorka earlier in the summer.

Brian Karem, a senior White House correspondent for Playboy, in July traded insults with Gorka at an event in the Rose Garden.

"To me, this was clearly unprofessional conduct at the White House," Stelter said Sunday during a discussion on "Reliable Sources."

Karem clapped back, suggesting the White House behaved unprofessionally.

"I am provocative, and I am a smart-aleck, but I'm not going to apologize for that," Karem told Stelter. "That's OK, under the First Amendment. There have been far worse altercations occurred in the Rose Garden and by members of the press in the past."

Karem is suing President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham to overturn a 30-day suspension of his press pass, a credential that gives journalists easier access to the White House.

"This is part of a war by President Trump and his new press secretary, Ms. Grisham, to try to squelch and intimidate reporters from asking tough questions at the White House," Karem's attorney, Ted Boutrous told Stelter. "That's all it is. It violates the First Amendment. It violates due process, and they're trying to send a message to other reporters there in the Rose Garden, 'Watch out, we'll do this to you.'"

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