CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump administration over White House ban
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit alleging their White House access was revoked in violation of First Amendment rights.
Washington, United States. CNN, MS NOW and Politico said on Monday they were suing President Donald Trump and members of his administration after being banned from the White House grounds.
The outlets said the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to protect their First Amendment rights and could lead to emergency hearings as soon as this week.
Legal challenge
The three news organisations said the White House had revoked their journalists’ credentials without notice or process because it objected to their reporting.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” they said in a joint statement. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
They said the lawsuit aimed “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”
The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and the press. White House representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump response
Trump first announced the action on Friday in a social media post. On Monday, after the lawsuit was announced, he defended the ban in another post, describing the news media as a security threat without providing evidence.
“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” Trump wrote. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS.”
He said the media was “corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control,” adding that it was a threat to national security.
White House access
The Trump administration has altered longstanding practices in its dealings with the White House press, restricting access for several major news organisations while giving greater prominence to newer outlets viewed as more sympathetic to the administration.
Trump has also filed several lawsuits against news organisations.
CNN had been scheduled to cover Monday’s White House events for the wider press corps, including Trump’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. It was not immediately clear what television footage of the president would be made available to the public.
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