EXCLUSIVE: A changed name, an alleged fraudster dad and a VERY questionable resume: So how did Donald Trump's favorite White House correspondent pass security checks to become the social-distancing-defying briefing-crasher?
- Chanel Rion is the pro-Trump journalist for conservative network OAN, which was removed from White House briefings for her refusal to socially distance
- She was promptly re-invited by then press secretary Stephanie Grisham and Trump again invited her to ask a question - and has been back twice since
- DailyMail.com reveals new questions over how the 29-year-old is allowed into the White House
- She was born Chanel Dyan-Ryan and only changed her last name legally last year when she applied for a 'hard pass' for the White House
- For years she had no obvious employment but posed in designer dresses and at expensive vacation venues
- She describes herself as a Harvard graduate but actually enrolled in Harvard's Extension School where entry requirements are much lower
- She claimed to be part of Trump's 2016 campaign but a senior Republican told DailyMail.com they had no memory of her
a DailyMail.com investigation has uncovered serious questions over One America News (OAN) White House Correspondent Chanel Rion's background, finances, and how she obtained security clearance to be in the White House.
In fact, DailyMail.com can disclose that Rion changed her last name before applying for White House security clearance last year and that until becoming a correspondent for the conservative network last May, she had no obvious source of income, despite a social media profile filled with designer dresses and vacations in upscale hotels.
The 29-year-old has now flouted the White House Correspondents' Association repeatedly after it had OAN removed from the rotation of reporters allowed in the briefing room for Rion's refusal to follow social distancing guidelines.
Her latest appearance was on Wednesday, when once again she turned up at the back of the briefing room, defying the WHCA guidelines, and once again was invited by Trump to ask a question.