Controversy
Feldmen's writings have been generally positive, upbeat, and friendly to her interview subjects. However, they have occasionally ventured into controversial territory. In a December 1985 article for the Dallas Morning News, "McFarlane casualty of power", she reported on the resignation of National Security Adviser Robert C. "Bud" McFarlane, attributing the departure to
...subordinates whose efforts to protect their bosses with excessive zeal often hinder constructive advice and input.
Too often, staff members, rather than working for a high official, act as if they "own" him. Such possessiveness results in abuse of authority, creates obstacles and leads to misconceptions. ...
McFarlane did not volunteer the real reasons — persistent malevolence and belligerancy within the administration which resulted in the undermining of policies.
Her interview articles on the Middle East were not just friendly to Israeli leaders, but to Arab leaders as well, and she gently argued for open dialogue and an even-handed approach to a just and lasting peace in the region.
In March 2001, Feldman was in the White House and composed a note for Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. She walked into his office in his absence to lay the note in his inbox. However, a staffer told her he would not be returning the next day, so she took her note back intending to hand it to him the next time she saw him. This was used as an excuse to suspend her press pass for 90 days and begin a whispering campaign that she was a "security risk" and telling Washington figures "not to talk to her". That informal denial of access continues.
Read more about this topic: Trude Feldman
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