Deputy White House press secretary TJ Ducklo announced on Saturday that he was resigning because of the “disgusting, disrespectful and unacceptable” threats he made against a female reporter in January. Ducklo’s resignation comes a day after he was placed on a one-week suspension about the incident.
Vanity Fair reported Friday that Ducklo had threatened to “destroy” Politico reporter Tara Palmeri if she went ahead with a story about his relationship with Axios reporter Alexi McCammond. McCammond had previously covered the Biden campaign until November, when she told her editors about her relationship with Ducklo and was assigned to defeat progressives and Vice President Kamala Harris.
CBS News has not been able to independently verify the phone call, but the conversation three weeks ago led to a series of moves by the White House communications bureau, two people familiar with the situation told CBS News. It’s unclear why it took more than three weeks for the White House to discipline Ducklo.
In a statement on Twitter, Ducklo said he is “devastated that he has embarrassed and disappointed President Biden and others in the White House.”
“There are no words to express my regret, embarrassment, and dislike for my behavior,” Ducklo said in a statement. “I used language that no woman should ever hear from anyone, especially in a situation where she was just trying to do her job. It was revolting, disrespectful and unacceptable. ‘
‘I knew this was terrible. I know I can’t take it back. But I also know that I can learn from it and do it better, ”Ducklo continued. “This incident is not representative of who I am as a person, and I will be determined to regain the trust of everyone I have disappointed for my excruciating actions.”
This is the first public statement Ducklo has made on this.
In a statement, press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Saturday’s resignation and said she had a meeting with Ducklo on Saturday night. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain backed up the conversation, she added.
“We are committed to striving every day to live up to the standard set by the President in treating others with dignity and respect, with courtesy and value to others through our words and actions”, Psaki said.
A White House official told CBS News that Mr. Biden is aware of the situation and supports Ducklo’s decision to step down.
The relationship between Ducklo and McCammond first came to light in a People magazine editorial earlier this week, weeks after January 20, when Palmeri reached out to McCammond for comment. A male colleague contacted Ducklo.
At one point that day, Ducklo angrily called Palmeri, according to Vanity Fair, saying he would destroy her reputation and accusing her of writing the story out of jealousy because another man wanted to “ fuck ” McCammond, not her.
McCammond and Palmeri had never been in touch prior to the attempted redress, which Palmeri was assigned to cover and not independently prosecute, Vanity Fair reported.
Ducklo has been on Mr. Biden’s team since his most recent campaign for the White House. In December 2019, Ducklo announced he had been diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer.
Arden Farhi and Bo Erickson contributed to the reporting.