Politico corrects report on Susie Wiles’ role in Katie Zacharia’s interview after WH threat
WASHINGTON, DC: Politico has corrected a report about White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and former press secretary Katie Zacharia’s Fox News interview after the White House demanded a correction and apology. The outlet updated the story on Wednesday, October 21, after White House Counsel Will Scharf warned that “all options are on the table” over its reporting.
The correction changes a key detail in Politico’s original report, which suggested Wiles helped arrange Zacharia’s interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity shortly before she departs from the White House. However, Politico’s follow-up reporting found that Wiles did not directly set up the interview.
While the outlet acknowledged the error, its lawyer, Ted Boutrous, pushed back against the White House’s wider accusations and argued that a reporting mistake would not justify retaliation against the news organization.
Politico corrects Susie Wiles report about Katie Zacharia’s Sean Hannity interview
Politico’s October 16 report initially claimed that Wiles helped set up Zacharia’s appearance on Hannity’s Fox News show. The interview was widely seen as contributing to the former press secretary’s ouster.
The updated report now includes a correction stating, “An earlier version of this report, including its headline, mischaracterized the role White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played in then-press secretary Katie Zacharia's interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.”
It added that Politico’s follow-up reporting indicated Wiles “did not play a direct role in setting up the interview.”
Fox News had denied the original report before its publication. In a statement to Politico, the network said Hannity decides his own guests and that Wiles and Alvarez had nothing to do with booking the interview.
The New York Post later reported that Zacharia had personally pushed for the interview, citing text messages it obtained.
Will Scharf demands correction and apology over Politico’s reporting
The correction followed a letter sent to Politico on Monday, October 19, by White House Counsel Will Scharf. He demanded a correction and apology over three articles concerning Wiles and warned that the administration was considering possible consequences.
According to Axios, Scharf’s letter challenged three Politico reports published on October 15 and 16. They covered claims that President Donald Trump was considering replacing Wiles, the White House’s reaction to the earlier report, and the suggestion that Wiles had helped arrange Zacharia’s interview.
😮 Katie Zacharia crashes and burns on [checks notes] Hannity 😮 If you had the "over" on Zacharia lasting more than one Scaramucci, her epic flame out on Hannity just now won't help your cause HANNITY: You said you consulted with people who advised you it was okay to call yourself a lawyer but not an attorney, correct? ZACHARIA: Correct HANNITY: There's a report out tonight showing 15 social media posts where you identify yourself as an attorney ZACHARIA: I think they were retweets Here's the whole interview:
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 16, 2026
The articles included on-the-record denials from White House officials. Trump had dismissed the report about a possible replacement for Wiles as “fake news,” while a White House spokesman called the follow-up report “unbelievably stupid and false.”
Scharf’s letter also described Trump’s counsel as “uncharacteristically enraged” by the reporting.
Politico reviewed all three articles and conducted further reporting before deciding to correct the story about Wiles and Zacharia’s interview.
Politico lawyer Ted Boutrous defends reporting and rejects White House accusations
Politico lawyer Ted Boutrous defended the outlet’s work in his response to Scharf, saying the organization takes accuracy seriously but rejected the claim that it had deliberately misled readers.
“POLITICO categorically rejects the false accusations in your letter that it ‘chose to publish fanciful fiction’ and ‘purposeful falsehoods designed to mislead the public,’” the letter stated.
Boutrous also argued that Scharf’s criticism overlooked the fact that the articles included denials from senior administration officials.
He said Politico had re-examined the three stories and carried out follow-up reporting before correcting the October 16 article. The updated version now states that Wiles offered “positive reinforcement” for Zacharia’s interview but did not directly arrange it.
Boutrous described the correction as part of the outlet’s commitment to journalistic accuracy and integrity.
Politico says reporting error does not justify White House retaliation
The dispute also touches on the White House’s recent attempt to ban Politico, with Boutrous arguing that an error in its reporting would not justify action against the outlet because of its coverage.
“To be clear, any error that you could identify in POLITICO's reporting about the President or his administration would not excuse the White House's unconstitutional retaliation and discrimination against POLITICO for the content of its news coverage,” the lawyer wrote.
He further argued that efforts to punish Politico over its journalism or perceived editorial viewpoint would violate its constitutional rights.
