E-Paper
CNN, MS NOW, Politico seek immediate court hearing as White House access remains blocked
Trump first announced he was banning the outlets Friday, assailing what he called “fake news”
Prefer HTon Google
CNN, MS NOW and Politico remained barred from the White House hours after a federal judge ordered their access restored, prompting the news outlets to seek an immediate court hearing on Thursday.
The judge had temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on the three outlets and ordered early Thursday that their access to the White House be restored, Associated Press (AP) reported.
The ban on the three news organisations was unconstitutional, the judge ruled, as per Reuters.
US district judge Timothy Kelly issued the order on Thursday in a lawsuit brought by the three media organisations after the White House revoked their access. The outlets said that the decision violated their First Amendment protections and their right to due process.
In his late-night ruling, Judge Timothy ordered the White House to "immediately return, reinstate, and restore" the three outlets' access.
He said they had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order, in effect for 14 days, and were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process.
Reporters from all three outlets, however, said they remained blocked several hours after the ruling.
Why did Trump announce ban?
Trump first announced he was banning the outlets Friday, assailing what he called "fake news," and only later arguing that their reporting was a risk to national security.
The outlets argued in a joint lawsuit that the ban was a blatant violation of the First Amendment because it singled them out for the content of their coverage.
The Trump administration later justified in court and said that the outlets violated standards of professionalism and decorum and published sensitive or classified information.
Also Read: ‘UN allowed us in, sir’: CNN reporter rebuts Trump after he confronts her in New York amid media ban
The US justice department also invoked national security concerns and said that access to the White House was a privilege rather than a constitutional right.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico rubbished the reasoning and said that the ban was retaliation over their reporting. They cited the First Amendment, which protected freedom of speech and the press, as well as Fifth Amendment due-process protections.
