3 News Outlets Seek Permanent Court Order Against White House Press Ban
CNN, MS NOW, and Politico argue the administration is ignoring Judge Timothy Kelly's rulings by keeping them out of the rotating press pool.
By Tyler Khalil ·
Three major news outlets filed a new legal request Wednesday to make a court order permanent, claiming the White House is still blocking them from covering President Donald Trump in the Oval Office and on Air Force One. CNN, MS NOW, and Politico say the administration is defying previous rulings by keeping their reporters out of the rotating press pool. They argue this exclusion violates their First Amendment free speech rights.
The outlets contend the president is retaliating against them for reporting he dislikes. Their attorney, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., stated in a filing that the White House continues to block their journalists from covering the president in the locations where he most frequently engages with the press.
The core of the dispute is whether the president can punish news organizations based on the content of their coverage. The news groups describe this as viewpoint discrimination, a practice forbidden by the First Amendment. Trump maintains that he does not have to allow outlets with reporting he dislikes onto White House grounds, Air Force One, or other areas.
The amended lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to solidify his recent decisions. About two weeks ago, Kelly ruled that the outlets were likely to succeed in their case. He expanded a prior temporary ruling that found the administration violated the Fifth Amendment right to due process. On October 13, Kelly also ruled in favor of the outlets on their First Amendment claim.
In his opinion, Kelly rejected Trump’s argument that the ban served policy goals like national security. The judge determined the ban resulted from the president’s stated belief that the outlets’ reporting was inaccurate and biased. Kelly wrote that this was unlawful viewpoint discrimination, defined as the government taking action against types of speech it does not like.
The filing warns that every news organization now faces the risk of similar punishment for coverage the president deems insufficiently favorable. The outlets wrote that this dynamic deprives the public of current and complete information about its government. The White House had not responded to the amended lawsuit as of Thursday morning.
