CNN, MS NOW And Politico Return To White House
9 hours ago
Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to the White House Thursday after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on the three news organizations.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” access to the outlets. Kelly granted a temporary restraining order that will remain in effect for 14 days while the legal battle continues.
The three organizations had sued the Trump administration after their journalists were barred from the White House over the weekend. Trump initially said he was banning the outlets because of what he described as “fake news” coverage. The administration later raised national security concerns in defending the restrictions in court.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico argued that the administration violated their First Amendment and due process rights by revoking access because of the content of their reporting.
Kelly found the organizations were likely to succeed in showing their press passes had been revoked without adequate due process. The judge also said the government must have clear standards outlining what conduct could result in a journalist losing White House access.
Despite the overnight order, journalists from the three outlets were initially turned away again Thursday morning. The organizations returned to court seeking an emergency hearing before the White House restored their credentials a few hours later.
The administration said in a court filing that White House officials needed time to reactivate and return the journalists’ credentials. Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were back on White House grounds by Thursday afternoon.
However, the dispute over access did not immediately end. CNN and MS NOW said some of their journalists were later denied entry to cover Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival for Thursday evening’s state dinner, even after their general White House credentials had been restored.
The judge’s order does not resolve the broader lawsuit. The temporary restrictions on the administration will remain in place as the court considers whether to issue a longer-lasting preliminary injunction.
The dispute also does not resolve a separate disagreement involving CNN’s participation in the White House television pool. Other major broadcast networks had declined to participate in the pool after CNN was removed from the rotation.
The legal battle is the latest dispute between the Trump administration and major news organizations over access to the president and the White House.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” access to the outlets. Kelly granted a temporary restraining order that will remain in effect for 14 days while the legal battle continues.
The three organizations had sued the Trump administration after their journalists were barred from the White House over the weekend. Trump initially said he was banning the outlets because of what he described as “fake news” coverage. The administration later raised national security concerns in defending the restrictions in court.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico argued that the administration violated their First Amendment and due process rights by revoking access because of the content of their reporting.
Kelly found the organizations were likely to succeed in showing their press passes had been revoked without adequate due process. The judge also said the government must have clear standards outlining what conduct could result in a journalist losing White House access.
Despite the overnight order, journalists from the three outlets were initially turned away again Thursday morning. The organizations returned to court seeking an emergency hearing before the White House restored their credentials a few hours later.
The administration said in a court filing that White House officials needed time to reactivate and return the journalists’ credentials. Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were back on White House grounds by Thursday afternoon.
However, the dispute over access did not immediately end. CNN and MS NOW said some of their journalists were later denied entry to cover Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival for Thursday evening’s state dinner, even after their general White House credentials had been restored.
The judge’s order does not resolve the broader lawsuit. The temporary restrictions on the administration will remain in place as the court considers whether to issue a longer-lasting preliminary injunction.
The dispute also does not resolve a separate disagreement involving CNN’s participation in the White House television pool. Other major broadcast networks had declined to participate in the pool after CNN was removed from the rotation.
The legal battle is the latest dispute between the Trump administration and major news organizations over access to the president and the White House.
