A federal judge has ordered President Trump to restore access to CNN, MS Now, and Politico while they continue their lawsuit against his administration.
Federal Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a temporary restraining order against the ban. He wrote that the media outlets “did not receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before their hard passes were revoked.”
Kelly rejected the administration’s argument that the teams were banned due to national security concerns. “Certainly, that is not what President Trump said when he announced that he was ‘banning’ Plaintiffs from the White House — instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of Plaintiffs’ reporting,” he wrote.
The Department of Justice previously argued in the case that According to the filing, access to the White House is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked. “At the very least, the Government may control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office, even for viewpoint-discriminatory reasons.” It went on to state that Trump’s action is not retaliatory as he has not “revoked access to other outlets that have equally criticized the President.”
Trump defended his decision to ban the networks in a statement on Truth Social earlier this week.
“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,” he wrote. “It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!
