And minder makes three: For White House interviews, it’s never just one-on-one – The Washington Post

the White House — perhaps the single most intensely covered institution in the United States — may be the most diligent user of the chaperoned interview. Almost every officially sanctioned exchange between reporters and the proverbial “senior administration officials” is conducted in the presence of a press staffer, even when the interview is “on background,” meaning the source will not be identified by name