Washington, D.C., Aug. 12 (ANI): A veteran White House reporter has disclosed after 26 years that the Clinton administration held a briefing for journalists before employing a decoy aircraft during then-President Bill Clinton’s high-risk visit to Pakistan in 2000.
Susan Page, who served as chair of the White House Correspondents’ Association at the time, revealed that officials called her for an off-the-record briefing before President Clinton departed India for Pakistan, according to The Washington Post.
“They told me about the extraordinary security procedures being taken because of the dangers in flying there, including use of the decoy plane,” Page said. “Of course, the dangers threatened the journalists covering the trip as well as President Clinton.”
The revelation followed a report by The Washington Post stating that President Donald Trump secretly switched aircraft while departing Turkey last month due to a credible Iranian threat. Media personnel and several White House aides were led to believe that Trump remained aboard the former Air Force One.
According to the newspaper’s report, Trump was transported via an airport catering truck to an unmarked Air Force C-32A, while the presidential aircraft carrying press representatives and staff acted as a decoy. Official White House statements had earlier maintained that Trump departed Turkey aboard the former Air Force One.
Page, currently serving as USA Today’s Washington bureau chief, said she decided to discuss the Clinton-era session because more than two decades have elapsed and the deception became obvious upon Clinton’s arrival in Islamabad.
“I haven’t spoken about this episode before, because of the off-the-record ground rules of the discussion,” Page said. “But since more than a quarter-century has passed — and since the ruse became evident as soon as President Clinton disembarked in Pakistan — I think it’s OK for me to relay it now.”
In March 2000, an aircraft displaying Air Force One markings touched down in front of television cameras in Islamabad. A Secret Service officer who bore a resemblance to Clinton emerged first. Shortly afterward, an unmarked plane arrived, from which the then-U.S. president actually disembarked.
In contrast, the Trump operation was executed without providing journalists any information regarding the switch in planes or the severity of the threat, according to The Post. Media members traveling aboard the decoy aircraft were directed to keep their window shades lowered throughout the flight.
Defending the security measures without making direct reference to the alleged deception, White House communications director Steven Cheung addressed the matter.
“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who seek his demise, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” Cheung said.
Addressing reporters later, Trump stated that he remains under a persistent threat from Iran.
“But if I go, you go. Right?” he said. “Perhaps someday you want to change professions.”
The White House press pool consists of a designated, rotating group of journalists tasked with accompanying and reporting on the president for the wider media fraternity. This mechanism guarantees an objective and independent record of presidential movements and official activities when general media access is restricted. (ANI)
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