Though the group of pool reporters in the Oval Office was hand picked, the White House has denied the TASS staffer was permitted entry.

“TASS was not on the approved list of media for today’s pool,” a White House official told CNN in a statement. “As soon as it came to the attention of press office staff that he was in the Oval, he was escorted out by the Press Secretary.”

This begs the question of whose hand was doing the picking?