(The Center Square) – The Citizen Action Defense Fund (CADF) is threatening legal action against the Washington State House of Representatives and the WA State Capitol Correspondents Association for denying talk show radio host Ari Hoffman press credentials.
“The right to gather news is not a privilege granted at the discretion of political bodies or private associations,” said CADF Executive Director Jackson Maynard wrote in a letter to House Laurie Jinkins, Chief Clerk Bernard Dean, and Capitol Correspondents Association representative Jerry Cornfield. “It is a core constitutional right. Denying a journalist access to the people’s House raises profound legal and civil rights concerns.”
Ari Hoffman, longtime talk show host for 570 KVI in Seattle who is Jewish, hoped to be granted credentials to cover Jewish Advocacy Day but was denied.
“I applied for press credentials and they rejected them outright,” said Hoffman in a Thursday interview with The Center Square.
The talk show host said he’s not sure if the denial is based on the fact he advocates for conservative values or for Republicans, but said if ‘advocacy’ is the issue, then other outlets shouldn’t be granted credentials.
“The Seattle Times endorses candidates,” he said. “The Seattle Times endorses initiatives. The Seattle Times endorses many, many things. So, by that logic, the Seattle Times shouldn’t get a press pass.”
For decades, press credentialing was overseen by the CCA, which last year handed that authority back over to the state Legislature. The Senate proceeded to bar reporters from the legislative wings unless invited. Press credentials give reporters access to areas of the Capitol Building where the general public is not allowed without the escort of a lawmaker or staff member.
Shortly after the Legislature regained control over press credentialing, independent journalist Jonathan Choe was denied entry into the Democratic Party’s media availability.
While CADF states in its press release that it is requesting all policies, communications, and decision-making materials related to the credentialing process, The Center Square obtained emails via a public records request showing that State Attorney General’s Office attorneys were in communication with the attorneys for the House and Senate respectively regarding press credentialing. A March 18 email sent from Assistant Attorney General Kelly Pardis to Assistant Attorney General William McGinty is titled “CCA guidelines,” with a document attached sharing the same title.
One draft of an April 21 email never sent had the subject line “Media credentialing project.”
It is unknown what was said in the emails or in that document, because most of them were redacted under attorney client privilege. The Center Square has sought clarification with the AGO Public Records Office on the relationship between the AGO and the state Legislature, since the House and Senate attorneys do not have AGO emails.
In a press release, CADF argued that “the House has failed to publish clear, objective standards governing press credentials and has instead delegated that authority to a private association whose criteria, processes, and even legal status are opaque. Federal courts have repeatedly held that such vague or unpublished standards violate both the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process guarantees.”
TCS pressing the issues led to the official rule change and the Capitol Correspondents Association decision to return press credentialing authority to the Senate and House.
For the current 2026 session, members of the media granted credentials by the House are given a hard pass for the entire session. Credentials for the Senate are given out on a weekly basis with paper documentation, but only to certain members of the media.
“It’s like Deja vu all over again that here we are back and they’re trying the same thing that didn’t work last time and that they wound up having to cave on,” Maynard said. “And I’m hopeful that they’ll take a fresh look at the cases that we’ve cited and that they will decide to go ahead and issue press credentials and not run the risk of us having to take court action.”
Representatives of the state House and the correspondents association could not be immediately reached for comment.
