A US federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, ordering the administration to immediately restore the news outlets’ press access.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order early Thursday after the three media organizations challenged the ban in court, arguing that their exclusion violated their First Amendment rights and denied them due process.
Trump announced the ban on September 18, accusing the outlets of publishing what he described as “fake news” and negative coverage of his administration. The administration later argued that some of the outlets’ reporting raised national security concerns.
In his ruling, Kelly said CNN, MS NOW and Politico had met the legal threshold for temporary relief and were likely to succeed in showing that their press credentials were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process.
The judge also questioned the administration’s national security justification, noting that there was no indication in the record that the revocation of the outlets’ White House passes had initially been motivated by national security concerns.
He said Trump had focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negative nature of their reporting when announcing the ban.
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Kelly further said the government must have clear standards for conduct that could justify revoking press credentials. He described the White House’s stated standard for objectionable reporting as too vague to support the action.
The three outlets had filed a joint lawsuit challenging the ban, arguing that they were singled out because of the content of their coverage.
Their lawyer, Theodore Boutrous Jr., said the restrictions had caused irreparable harm by limiting the outlets’ ability to cover major events involving the president and other world leaders.
During the hearing, Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik argued that access to the White House was a privilege rather than a right and maintained that the president could take immediate action when national security was at issue.
The administration had cited several reports by the three outlets as part of its justification. These included CNN reporting on construction details related to an East Wing bunker, an MS NOW report concerning an alleged leak investigation and a Politico report on funding for the proposed White House ballroom and related security improvements.
The ban also prompted other media organizations to take action. The US network press pool, which includes the major television networks, suspended coverage of Trump pool events in protest of the restrictions. The legal challenge will continue after the temporary order expires unless the court extends or modifies it.
AP News
