Kamala Harris and Richard Pan blocked some journalists from covering the event

SACRAMENTO, California. —

Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic congressional candidate Richard Pan blocked some news outlets, including KCRA 3, from covering their public appearance in Sacramento on Friday.

Harris’s team and Pan’s team blame each other for the decision to exclude certain journalists from covering the event.

While several other media outlets, including two local television stations, The Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times, covered Harris’ stop at Pan’s campaign headquarters, KCRA 3 was not invited or approved to cover the event, Pan’s campaign confirmed.

A spokesperson for Pan’s campaign told KCRA 3 Friday evening that the decision to exclude not only KCRA 3 but also the New York Times was at the direction of Kamala Harris’ team.

Generally, for large-scale events, journalists are informed and have the opportunity to request accreditations. That was not the case for this event with the former vice president. Authorized points of sale were simply informed that they could come by being notified by email or telephone.

“All credentials for the campaign office were directed by Vice President Kamala Harris’ office,” Pan’s campaign spokesperson said.

A person on Harris’ team who did not wish to be identified denied the claims and said Pan’s campaign was “entirely” responsible for handling the press. The person said Harris did not have any members of his communications team at the event.

Neither she nor Pan responded to reporters’ questions Friday.

Harris stopped by Pan’s campaign headquarters Friday to thank supporters working at Pan’s phone bank. But the main event that brought her to Sacramento was a private fundraiser in Pan’s name.

Sources with knowledge of the logistics of the event said the fundraiser was organized by Jason Kinney, a well-connected California lobbyist known for dining with Gov. Gavin Newsom at the French Laundry during the COVID-19 pandemic. A flyer for the event obtained by KCRA 3 indicated that tickets to attend ranged from $250 to $5,000.

Pan hosted another event Saturday with Democratic Rep. Ami Bera and other Sacramento-area candidates running in down-ballot races.

Pan did not answer the question when KCRA 3 repeatedly asked whether excluding reporters from his event was the right move, as President Donald Trump has attempted to exclude some news organizations from White House coverage. Pan falsely stated that his campaign did not exclude the media.

“We had media there,” he said several times. “I don’t take care of the press details. My team takes care of that.”

KCRA 3 offered to host a debate between Dr. Pan and his opponent, Rep. Kevin Kiley.

KCRA 3 also requested a one-on-one interview with Dr. Pan to talk about what he would like to do in Congress.

Dr. Pan’s campaign has largely ignored these requests in recent months.

See more coverage of California’s top stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel.