CNN, MS NOW and Politico will ask a federal judge Wednesday to restore their access to the White House as they challenge the administration’s decision to revoke their credentials. The three outlets say the White House acted because President Donald Trump objected to their coverage and gave them no opportunity to contest the decision.
They are seeking a temporary restraining order that would allow their reporters back onto White House grounds while U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly considers their lawsuit. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
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Judge takes up access Wednesday
Trump announced the ban Friday, accusing CNN, MS NOW and Politico of reporting what he called “FICTION and LIES.” By Saturday, their journalists were being turned away from the White House and their credentials had been deactivated.
The outlets argue the White House violated the First Amendment by excluding them because of their reporting and violated their due process rights by revoking their credentials without notice or a way to contest the decision.
The White House says the organizations can continue reporting on the administration but have no right to White House credentials or access. Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Trump was not banning the outlets from reporting, but denying them what he called “special access.”
“So he’s not banning media outlets,” Vance told reporters. “What he’s doing is saying, ‘we’re not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda’.”
He added, “They can still report on the Trump White House. They can still get the public reports. They can still, of course, talk to people in the administration and outside the administration.”
Trump himself used the word “banning” when he announced the restrictions Friday.
Networks stop pool coverage
CNN was scheduled to handle White House television pool duties Monday but couldn’t after losing access, and the other major television networks declined to replace it.
That left Trump’s trip to New York for the U.N. General Assembly without the usual network television pool traveling with him. The pool rotates among CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, with the network on duty providing video that can be shared with other outlets.
Kelly handled Acosta case
Kelly, a Trump appointee, also presided over CNN’s 2018 fight to restore Jim Acosta’s White House credential. He ordered the first Trump administration to give Acosta his credential back after finding that he had not been given proper due process before it was revoked.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico are making both First Amendment and due process claims in the current case. The administration argues that White House access is a privilege rather than a constitutional right.
Kelly will consider Wednesday whether to restore the outlets’ access while the lawsuit continues.
Round out your reading
- Lawyer says 57 Cornell frat members were in the group chat. Could their silence be a crime?
- Florida county discovers mysterious Flock cameras with no obvious owner.
- Off Script: They won their primaries on one message. Now it’s disappearing.
- Some question whether a popular affordable housing policy is making the nation’s home shortage worse.
- Kelvin wave incoming: Why the US should care.
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