The president of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) reportedly said Monday that the White House asked him to criticize another reporter's article, a request he declined.

Jeff Mason, who covers the White House for Reuters and serves as the president of the association, said at a town hall that he refused the request, according to Politico media reporter Hadas Gold.

Jeff Mason at WHCA town hall says WH once asked him to release stmt criticizing a reporters article ... Mason declined — Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) July 11, 2017

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According to Erik Wemple, The Washington Post's media reporter, Mason declined to elaborate further.

Asked to give more details on WH request, @jeffmason1 declines to do so. — ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) July 11, 2017

Mason says assn has made clear to WH that it's not uncommon for a prez to be unhappy with coverage — ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) July 11, 2017

"They have occasionally asked us to do things that are not our role," says @whca President @jeffmason1 of @WhiteHouse. https://t.co/QKVNPyIH5j — Steve Herman (@W7VOA) July 11, 2017

The town hall comes amid mounting tensions between the press corps and the Trump administration, which has in recent weeks increasingly turned to off-camera briefings with reporters.