Judge delays ruling on Trump's White House media ban; outlets stay barred for now
A federal judge has ended an emergency hearing on CNN, MS NOW and Politico's White House ban without a ruling, leaving the outlets barred for now — but signalled the Trump administration's case looks weak.
A federal judge has left Donald Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds in place for now, ending Wednesday’s emergency hearing without ruling on the outlets’ bid to restore their access.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly heard arguments on Wednesday afternoon but issued no ruling from the bench. “I’ll consider what you’ve told me today and try to get you an answer as soon as I can,” Kelly told attorneys, according to ABC News.
Kelly indicated the ban did not appear to comply with existing federal appellate precedent on White House press access, and said the government had not “really justified” its national-security claims. He zeroed in on due process — the required notice and opportunity to respond “wasn’t played out here” — and pointed to two DC Circuit rulings: “as a district court judge I have to apply them”, The Wrap reports.
Hours earlier, 49 media organisations — including USA TODAY, Axios, AP, Reuters, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal’s publisher — filed an amicus brief warning the ban is meant to create a “chilling effect” on coverage, USA Today reports.
Trump announced the ban on 18 September on Truth Social; reporters were turned away the next day and sued on 21 September. The Justice Department argued access is “a privilege, not a right” — their lawyer Theodore Boutrous called it punishment for critical reporting, the American Star News reports.
Sources
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