In huge earth-shattering news, Bill Sammon, longtime Washington Times White House correspondent, is leaving to go be the first White House correspondent for the D.C. Examiner, and one of the first national posts for the Examiner brand.

The announcement, made late yesterday by new editor Vivienne Sosnowski, came in a press release without comment from either Sammon or Sosnowski.

"As Senior White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner, Sammon will be covering the President and his cabinet and reporting on national politics from the White House. Many of his reports will also be carried by the San Francisco Examiner and the Baltimore Examiner--which is scheduled to launch in April," the release explained.

The new post fills an obvious hole. It has been strange that a year into the Examiner's D.C. reign, the paper's only White House pass belonged to gossip Karen Feld.

It also will bring a big boost of visibility for the free tab--Sammon is a well-known correspondent, arguably the paper's first "name" reporter, and a commentator for Fox News.

> Was last night's pool report by Sammon his last for the WT? After the jump.

Pool Report #2
Bush visits Frist house
Feb. 13, 2006

President Bush visited the northwest Washington home of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Republican, to attend a reception for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The presidential motorcade departed the White House at 6:15 p.m. on a cold and snowy evening and arrived in the hilly neighborhood seven minutes later. Your pool did not actually see Mr. Bush at any time. The motorcade departed Normanstone Lane at 8:06 and was back at the White House, just like clockwork, seven minutes later.

Bill Sammon
The Washington Times