Brian James Karem (born March 10, 1961) is an American journalist and author working as the White House correspondent for Playboy and political analyst for CNN. He also hosts the "Just Ask The Question" podcast. In 1991, Karem received the National Press Club Freedom of the Press award for refusing to reveal his sources in a story related to the killing of a police officer in Texas. Early life and education Karem was born on March 10, 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky. His great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from Lebanon. After finishing Seneca High School in 1979, he attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, playing football and graduating with a degree in journalism in 1983. The same year, he married his wife, Pamela J. Russell. Career In 1983, Karem joined The Montgomery County Courier in Conroe, Texas as sports editor. After leaving the Courier in 1984, Karem switched to television joining WKYT-TV in Lexington, Kentucky as a political reporter. He returned to Texas in 1986 to work at KMOL-TV in San Antonio. In 1990, Karem was jailed in contempt of court for refusing to reveal the name of a source who arranged an interview with a suspect involved in killing a police officer. The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas refused Karem's appeal for release, stating "Karem has no right to refuse to disclose the names of his confidential sources." Karem's additional appeals were denied first by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and then the United States Supreme Court. Karem was released after he complied with authorities following a phone call with his source, Debora Ledesma. Ledesma, however claimed that she never asked for confidentiality, contradicting Karem's claims. During the Gulf War, he was one of the first reporters to enter Kuwait City after its liberation. During the National Drug Summit in San Antonio, Texas in 1992, Karem asked then President George H. W. Bush to comment on claims referring to the event as a "joke". Karem lost his job after the incident but later gained an interview with Sam Donaldson on ABC and a mention from The Tonight Show host Jay Leno. Following his termination from KMOL, Karem joined the television program, America's Most Wanted as a producer and correspondent. While covering the War on drugs, he became the first American journalist allowed inside Pablo Escobar's palatial prison after Escobar's escape from