Three news outlets asked a judge to permanently block Trump’s White House ban. They cite continued retaliation since a court order.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly late Monday to issue a preliminary injunction preserving their White House access while their lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s ban on the outlets proceeds, according to Reuters. The filing seeks to make permanent, pending a final ruling, an order Kelly issued last week that temporarily restored the outlets’ press credentials after the administration revoked them earlier this month.
The outlets argued in the filing that the ban amounts to unlawful discrimination based on viewpoint under the First Amendment, and that continuing it would cause irreparable harm to both the news organizations and the public. They pointed to incidents since Kelly’s temporary restraining order as evidence the administration intends to reinstate the ban if given the chance, including a Saturday trip to Tennessee during which the White House did not allow CNN to serve as the designated pool reporter, despite its normal rotation in that role. The filing also cited earlier episodes, reported by CNN and Forbes, in which Secret Service personnel confiscated a Politico reporter’s press pass and CNN and MS NOW reporters were initially blocked from a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, even after the court had ordered their access restored.
Trump announced the ban on the three outlets on Truth Social earlier this month, citing what he called unfair coverage. Kelly’s temporary restraining order, which found the ban likely unconstitutional, remains in effect until at least Oct. 8, and the outlets are asking him to schedule a hearing before it expires. The government has argued the ban is lawful, saying the administration has authority to enforce standards for journalists and protect national security information, and disputing that the move was retaliatory. The dispute follows a separate, ongoing legal fight over the administration’s earlier removal of the Associated Press from the White House press pool over its refusal to adopt the name “Gulf of America” in its stylebook, a case in which a federal appeals court has allowed the AP’s exclusion from some White House spaces to continue for now.
Sources: This report is based on information from Reuters (via U.S. News), CNN, Forbes and MS NOW.