Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley's campaign has banned another journalist from one of her events after seeking a response to 's exclusive reporting on resurfaced infidelity allegations.
The DC Spectator gossip columnist, who writes under the pseudonym “Cockburn,” revealed in a column that a Haley staffer barred him from an event in Amherst, New Hampshire, on Friday.
was also asked to leave the same event, a meet-and-greet at Mary Ann's Diner, and a Haley employee said our outlet was prohibited from covering her future campaign events.
The expulsions came after published an article Friday morning solely reporting allegations that Haley had falsely denied cheating on her husband when she was accused of engaging in two extramarital affairs during her 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial campaign to have been admitted.
The Haley campaign did not respond to requests for comment on these allegations, although gave them 24 hours to do so.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley attends a campaign stop at Mary Ann's Diner in Amherst, New Hampshire on Friday. Journalists from two media outlets were excluded from the event
The Spectator columnist, who covered several Haley events in New Hampshire this week, wrote that he learned of the report after arriving at the event in Amherst.
“Naturally, Cockburn was curious to see if Haley or her team had seen the story or had an answer. “He asked a young male staff member who was part of her entourage – and he said that wasn’t the case,” the columnist wrote.
The Spectator journalist said that while he was watching Haley give a television interview, “an even younger male employee” approached him and asked which branch he was at.
The journalist wrote that when he told the employee that he was writing for the British news magazine The Spectator, the employee yelled “get out” and threw him out of the restaurant, even though other reporters were present inside.
In a column later Friday, the journalist, referencing New Hampshire's state motto, said he “decided to live free rather than die at the hands of a neoconservative teenager — and headed out into the snow.”
Neither the Haley campaign nor the pseudonymous Spectator columnist responded to requests for comment from on Saturday morning.
Separately, a reporter and photographer were asked to leave Haley's Friday morning event at Mary Ann's Diner, a public restaurant where the former South Carolina governor spoke to voters.
“Chron is not permitted for any further events.” “I politely ask you to leave,” said Haley spokeswoman Chaney Denton, pointing to the door.
When asked if this was valid for the rest of the campaign, Denton replied “yes.”
Denton later told a editor that the publication had been banned for “printing lies.”
Ironically, at the event Haley answered questions from the press and spoke generally about attacks against her. Donald Trump has stepped up his criticism of her as she has risen in the polls.
“If someone hits me, that's politics.” “It's nothing personal to me,” Haley said.
Nikki Haley is seen in 2015 with her husband Michael, a businessman and sergeant in the South Carolina Army National Guard. Haley frequently cites her husband as the main reason for her run for president and features him in campaign ads
Shortly after the event, the reporter was told that the application for permission to hold a rally in Manchester on Friday evening had been rejected.
“We apologize, but due to high interest and limited space, we are NOT able To you for today's event in Manchester, NH. “Please do not attempt to attend as you will be turned away at the door,” the statement said E-mail.
To apply to cover an event, a news organization fills out an online form and then receives a confirmation email from the campaign to confirm that it has been approved for the event.
did not receive confirmation of any Haley events on Friday, although it was authorized to cover her two events on Thursday.
The former U.N. ambassador was in the Granite State campaigning furiously ahead of Tuesday's primary election.
The vote is seen as one of her last chances to close the gap with front-runner Trump, and a poor result would be bleak for her prospects in the White House.
She, too, was dealt a blow Friday when South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott snubbed her and revealed he would support Trump.
Haley's campaign had tried to woo the Republican who appointed her to the Senate for the first time as governor, but he ultimately chose the front-runner, citing their “very good relationship.”
has been covering Haley's campaign since she launched her presidential bid in February 2023.
Our reporters attended several of her events, including her official introduction, and traveled with her in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Signed affidavits obtained by and now multiple witnesses allege that Haley had sexual relationships with Columbia lobbyist Larry Marchant Jr., 61, (left) and her communications adviser Will Folks before she was elected governor in 2010
has covered many of Haley's campaign events, including Thursday in New Hampshire, where she posed for photos with voters.
On Friday, reported new allegations of an affair that Haley had previously denied. New witnesses came forward to say that Haley's denials of two alleged affairs in 2008 were false and that the alleged trysts were brazen and widely known among South Carolina politicians.
Will Folks, 49, and Larry Marchant, 61, both signed affidavits in 2010 alleging they had a sexual relationship with the then-South Carolina lawmaker before she became governor.
While the contents of the affidavits were reported by major news outlets at the time, this was the first time they were published outside of Folks' own document, which he posted on his blog.
Haley, 51, denied both at the time, saying she was “100% faithful” to the father of her two children and her 28-year-old husband, Michael Haley, who served with the National Guard in Afghanistan in 2012.
Haley now often cites him as a reason for her running for president.
She has struck a new, combative tone on the campaign trail as polls show her steadily rising in the country's primaries. Haley's candidacy depends on a strong result in New Hampshire, which includes a close second place finish.
In the New Hampshire RealClearPolitics poll average as of Saturday, Trump leads Haley by 15.7 points. However, the polls also show that Haley is on an upward trend – over the past two months she has steadily risen from under 20% to 34%.
Trump, in turn, is taking tough action against Haley.
“I don't know that she's a Democrat, but she's very close to one.” “She's way too close to you,” the former president told voters at a rally in Portsmouth on Wednesday night.
His campaign is also hitting them hard with advertising in the state.
Haley finished a disappointing third in Monday's Iowa caucuses, but polls show she could do much better in New Hampshire, where she has focused much of her time and attention. Trump won Iowa by 30 points.