Federal judge halts Trump's White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico
A Trump-appointed federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order reinstating press passes for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, ruling the White House media ban was likely unconstitutional.
A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporting from the White House early on Thursday, ruling the move was likely unconstitutional and ordering press passes reinstated.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order blocking officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days and directing the White House to return the hard passes confiscated from reporters at the three outlets.
Kelly found the outlets were likely to succeed on claims that their passes were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process, and rejected the administration’s national-security justification. “Nothing in the record that predates this suit suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns,” he wrote, noting Trump had instead cited the outlets’ alleged lack of truthfulness. He said he was bound “full stop” by the 1977 precedent Sherrill v. Knight, which bars the White House from arbitrarily denying press passes once facilities are opened to the media.
Trump announced the ban on 18 September and the passes were revoked the following day; the outlets sued on 21 September. Trump said the Justice Department will appeal the ruling.
Journalists were initially turned away on Thursday morning, prompting an emergency hearing request. After press passes were delivered to the White House gate, CNN reporter Betsy Klein and a photojournalist were admitted at noon, along with reporters from MS NOW and Politico.
Sources
- USA Today: Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW, Politico halted by judge
- CNN: CNN, MS NOW and Politico allowed back into the White House after judge orders Trump admin to restore access
- New York Post: CNN, MS NOW, Politico reporters back at White House after federal judge blocks Trump ban
- NDTV: US Judge Lifts Trump’s White House Ban On CNN, MS NOW, Politico
- ZeroHedge: Judge Orders Trump Temporarily Restore CNN, MS NOW And Politico Access To White House
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