Tom Kludt, a media reporter with CNN who has covered the allegations that Bill O’Reilly fabricated stories about his past reporting, claimed today that he was denied a press credential to cover the premier of the Fox News host’s National Geographic documentary, “Killing Jesus.”
In a series of tweets this afternoon, Kludt claimed that he requested a press pass to be on the red carpet for tonight’s premier, but that a National Geographic publicist denied him the pass “out of respect” for O’Reilly, who co-wrote the book on which the documentary is based.
National Geographic publicist said that after reviewing my coverage, they have declined my credentials "out of respect" for Bill O'Reilly.
— Tom Kludt (@TomKludt) March 23, 2015
When Business Insider reached National Geographic spokesperson Chris Albert for comment, Albert issued a statement confirming that Kludt was denied a press pass, but only because press attention for the event was overwhelming, and CNN already had one news crew scheduled to attend the premier. “We decided to decline a reporter who by his own admission doesn’t cover red carpets,” Albert wrote.
After the story broke, Kludt, who did not return an email seeking comment via a CNN publicist, tweeted a flat denial of Albert’s version:
The National Geographic publicist never once mentioned space constraints. She referred only to my "recent coverage on Bill O'Reilly."
— Tom Kludt (@TomKludt) March 23, 2015
When asked to comment on Kludt’s latest claim, Albert referred Poynter to his previous statement.
Kludt has written several pieces about the scandal surrounding claims that O’Reilly made up or exaggerated dramatic events from his early reporting years. For example, he uncovered an audiotape that appears to contradict O’Reilly’s claim that he was just outside the home of Lee Harvey Oswald associate George de Mohrenschildt when he fatally shot himself in 1977.
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