Trump Bans News Outlets From WH; CNN, MSNOW, Politico Sue
India-West News Desk
WASHINGTON, DC – Three major news organizations have joined forces to challenge what they say is a continuing assault on press freedom by the Trump administration, taking the fight to federal court after President Donald Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
The lawsuit, filed September 21 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses the administration of violating the First and Fifth Amendments by revoking the journalists’ access because of objections to their reporting. The organizations are seeking a temporary restraining order that would immediately restore their access while the case proceeds.
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the news organizations said.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
The confrontation followed Trump’s September 18 announcement that the three organizations would lose access to the White House because of their coverage. Their journalists were turned away September 19, with their White House badges disabled and taken from them.
Trump announced the ban on Truth Social, blaming what he called the outlets’ “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.” He wrote: “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America.”
The news organizations cited Trump’s own statements in their lawsuit as evidence that the restrictions were based on their reporting.
“Defendants took these actions in express retaliation for Plaintiffs’ First Amendment-protected newsgathering and speech because they dislike that speech’s content and viewpoint, and for the express purpose of excluding journalists and news organizations with editorial viewpoints disfavored by the Trump administration from the White House grounds,” their lawyers wrote.
They also argued that the administration violated the Fifth Amendment by revoking the journalists’ access without giving them an opportunity to contest the decision.
The plaintiffs said they were suffering “serious irreparable harm” because the ban was preventing them from carrying out their reporting from the White House.
“They have already lost opportunities to perform their constitutionally protected newsgathering and reporting functions at the White House, impairing their ability to speak and publish as members of the press – and they lose more such opportunities every day that the ban remains in effect,” the filing states.
The lawsuit argues that once the White House has granted journalists access, it cannot revoke that access simply because officials object to their viewpoint. The organizations point to earlier court fights during Trump’s first presidency involving CNN correspondent Jim Acosta and Playboy journalist Brian Karem, whose White House credentials were restored after legal challenges.
The dispute widened September 21 when CNN was removed from the television pool responsible for providing video of presidential events to the rest of the news media.
CNN had been scheduled to serve as the television pooler as Trump traveled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. The White House decision prevented the network from carrying out that assignment.
A memo sent to subscribers of the White House television pool said: “This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President.”
“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,” the memo said.
The five networks that make up the primary White House television pool – Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News – then issued a joint statement.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” they said.
The suspension of the television pool has turned the dispute over three banned news organizations into a broader confrontation involving the system through which White House events are shared among competing news outlets.
The lawsuit now places the administration’s authority over White House press access directly against the news organizations’ claim that government officials cannot use that access to punish or exclude journalists because they object to their reporting.
