President Donald J. Trump's advisor, Richard Grenell, took to Twitter account Friday to share his dissatisfaction with the media reporting on Donald Trump, Jr.'s contraction of COVID-19.
Grenell, the former acting Director of National Intelligence, has been working with Rudy Giuliani on Trump’s post-election legal efforts.
"Reporters need to stop announcing protected health information. This is a violation of HIPAA rules," Grenell tweeted before receiving public correction.
Here's how the announcement began:
Earlier this week @DonaldJTrumpJr tested positive for coronavirus and has been quarantining at a private location,… https://t.co/bIOpZOf2lW— Jennifer Jacobs (@Jennifer Jacobs) 1605913355.0
Confirming @JenniferJJacobs, a spokesman for Donald Trump Jr. says he’s positive. “Don tested positive at the start… https://t.co/7rBSHFBKOJ— Kaitlan Collins (@Kaitlan Collins) 1605913315.0
NBC News correspondent Josh Lederman retweeted with his own reply, stating, "Don Jr’s spokesman disclosed it in a statement, so that’s who you are accusing of violating HIPAA." Lederman added, "Also, if it violates his privacy, why did you retweet it to your ~700k followers?"
See the exchange below.
Don Trump Jr, the president’s son, has tested positive for COVID, @albamonica & @PeterAlexander report @NBCNews— Josh Lederman (@Josh Lederman) 1605913542.0
Also, if it violates his privacy, why did you retweet it to your ~700k followers?— Josh Lederman (@Josh Lederman) 1605914417.0
