Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order
Judge Tim Kelly of the US District Court directed the Trump administration to put White House credentials back in place for reporters working for CNN, MS Now and Politico on a temporary basis, finding the prohibition probably ran afoul of the constitution. His ruling calls for the press passes to be handed back right away and stays in force for two weeks. Orders of this kind generally aim to hold the situation steady until the court can examine the dispute in greater depth.[S1][S2][S3]
The order came in a case brought by the three newsrooms challenging the ban that President Donald Trump made public on 18 September. During Wednesday's hearing, Kelly pointed to earlier rulings holding that a White House hard pass may not be taken away or suspended unless the journalist first receives notice of an alleged violation and a chance to respond. He found the affected outlets seemed not to have gotten that kind of opportunity.[S1][S2]
Government's National Security Argument Rejected
Although the Justice Department tried to defend the ban by invoking national security, Kelly was unconvinced. He observed that nothing in the record substantiated the idea that pulling the passes would safeguard national security, or that security would suffer if the passes were given back while the case proceeds. The judge also pointed out that Trump's original stated reason had been only that the outlets were supposedly untruthful and negative in their coverage.[S1][S2]
A government attorney argued to the judge that the administration had adequately explained the revocations through letters delivered to the news organizations on Tuesday. Kelly appeared doubtful, pointing out that those letters arrived only after the passes had already been pulled and after the lawsuit had been lodged. Trump had written on social media that the three outlets should not be free to keep producing what he called fiction and lies.[S1]
Media Coalition Backs the Outlets
On Monday the three outlets filed suit against Trump and other administration figures in federal court in Washington, contending the ban infringed the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech and a free press along with their due process rights. They sought a temporary restraining order to restore their White House access at once while the litigation moves forward. The Justice Department responded in a Tuesday filing that White House access is a privilege rather than a right, and that the president may cut off news organizations' access.[S1][S2]
Press freedom advocates and dozens of newsrooms submitted a legal brief on Wednesday backing the three outlets. They argued that depriving journalists and news organizations of their rights over a perceived editorial viewpoint conflicts with decades of supreme court precedent. Among those who signed the brief were the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reuters, the Washington Post and Fox News.[S1]
In an unusual step, the five biggest US broadcasters announced on Monday that they would stop participating in the White House pool to show support for CNN. ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said the public has a strong interest in getting accurate, independent information about its government, and that no administration should penalize a news organization over objections to its reporting. The White House Correspondents' Association and close to 50 news organizations also filed a brief urging that the bans be lifted.[S3]
Background and Context
Reporters for the three outlets were kept off the White House grounds on Saturday and had their credentials taken away. In an earlier case involving CNN during Trump's first term, Kelly, whom Trump nominated in 2017, directed the White House to temporarily reinstate access for a CNN correspondent whose pass had been pulled. On Tuesday, Trump seemed to indicate CNN should not be covering him away from the White House either, telling a CNN reporter at the UN General Assembly in New York that he was surprised the reporter was present and ought not to be.[S2][S3]
On Monday evening the White House introduced a streaming service named Trump TV, describing it as offering top videos, major remarks and must-see highlights around the clock with real-time updates. The billionaire and former reality television personality has a long history of lashing out at media outlets that broadcast critical coverage of his campaigns and administrations, repeatedly calling the press the enemy of the people.[S3]
