The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) slammed the White House on Wednesday following reports that it banned a CNN reporter from a press event for asking President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE questions.

“We strongly condemn the White House's misguided and inappropriate decision today to bar one of our members from an open press event after she asked questions they did not like. This type of retaliation is wholly inappropriate, wrong-headed, and weak,” WHCA President Olivier Knox said in a statement.

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“It cannot stand,” the statement continued. “Reporters asking questions of powerful government officials, up to and including the President, helps hold those people accountable. In our republic, the WHCA supports the prerogative of all reporters to do their jobs without fear of reprisal from the government.”

The association’s statement came shortly after news broke that Kaitlan Collins, a White House reporter for CNN, was banned from a press event in the Rose Garden on Wednesday for asking Trump questions during his meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

During the gathering, the CNN reporter asked Trump about Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as the president's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, CNN reported.

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After the event, Bill Shine, the White House deputy chief of staff for communications, reportedly called Collins into his office, where White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was also said to be present.

The former Fox News executive and the press secretary then reportedly informed Collins that she was not invited to a press event in the Rose Garden later on Wednesday because she asked questions earlier that were "inappropriate" for the venue and reportedly shouting the questions, according to the CNN report.

Collins said Shine and Huckabee told her the network was still invited to the Rose Garden event, but added that she was not.