A US federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico. The ban on the three news organisations was likely 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.
The ruling comes days after Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House. Trump had accused the organisations of publishing what he described as “FICTION and LIES” about his administration.
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Why Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico
Trump announced the ban on September 18. He said the three outlets would not be allowed to “constantly write or report FICTION and LIES” while covering his presidency.
{{/usCountry}}Trump announced the ban on September 18. He said the three outlets would not be allowed to “constantly write or report FICTION and LIES” while covering his presidency.
{{/usCountry}}Their journalists were subsequently denied entry to the White House and their press credentials were deactivated.
The three organisations then sued Trump and senior White House officials in federal court, saying that the administration had punished them because of their reporting, as per AP.
The Trump administration later justified in court and said that the outlets violated standards of professionalism and decorum and published sensitive or classified information.
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.
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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.
Judge questioned White House process
During Wednesday's hearing, Judge Kelly appeared sceptical of the administration's position, CBS reported. He questioned whether the White House followed the required process before revoking journalists' credentials.
The judge pointed to previous cases establishing that journalists are entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge the withdrawal of their White House access. The White House sent letters explaining its objections only after the journalists' credentials had already been revoked.
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Kelly was appointed to the federal bench by Trump during his first term. In 2018, Kelly ordered the White House to restore CNN reporter Jim Acosta's press credentials after the administration revoked them following a confrontation with Trump.
The 1977 precedent
The current case also draws on Sherrill v. Knight (1977), a landmark case involving White House press access, as per the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
The legal principle from that case is that while the White House does not have to make every facility or event available to every journalist, once press access is opened to journalists, the government cannot selectively exclude reporters based simply on their viewpoint or without appropriate procedures.
Trump-media standoff
Earlier this week, major television networks suspended coverage of the US President in solidarity with CNN after it was removed from the White House television pool.
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The five networks normally rotate responsibility for producing footage of presidential events and distribute that feed to other broadcasters and news organisations. With no replacement pool in place, some presidential events were left without the usual shared television coverage.
The disruption was particularly visible during Trump's launch of a new White House helipad on Monday. With the regular television pool absent, the White House livestream showed Trump speaking while helicopter noise repeatedly drowned out his remarks.
The White House also launched ‘Trump TV’, a 24-hour online streaming service carrying the US President's administration videos, speeches and other material.