Big setback to Trump: Judge orders White House to restore access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico
A US federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore White House access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico after the three news organisations were barred from the premises by President Donald Trump.
According to CNN, US District Judge Timothy Kelly’s order comes after the three outlets challenged the ban in court, arguing that their exclusion violated constitutional protections for the press. The case has centred on whether the administration followed the required due-process procedures before revoking journalists’ access. Kelly’s intervention puts the White House press-access dispute back under judicial scrutiny, after the administration defended the ban by arguing that access to the White House is a privilege and citing national security concerns.
What led to the ban
Trump had barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House following criticism of their reporting. The three organisations subsequently sued the administration, seeking the restoration of their journalists’ access while their broader legal challenge continued. The news organisations argued that the move was linked to the content of their reporting and raised First Amendment concerns. The administration, meanwhile, maintained that the president has broad authority over access to the White House and pointed to national security concerns surrounding some of the reporting.
Judge Timothy Kelly’s connection to an earlier CNN case
The case has particular significance because Kelly previously handled a dispute involving CNN during Trump’s first presidency. In 2018, Kelly ordered the White House to restore CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass after CNN challenged its revocation. That case involved the due-process protections available to journalists holding White House credentials. During the latest proceedings, Kelly pointed to earlier legal precedents governing the revocation of journalists’ White House access. He indicated that the process followed by the administration in the latest case appeared not to have complied with those precedents.
White House defended the decision
The Justice Department argued that the president has authority to determine who can access the White House and said the administration’s decision was partly based on national security considerations. The administration also argued that journalists had been given an opportunity to challenge the decision through letters sent after the access was revoked. Kelly questioned whether that process came too late, given that the journalists’ credentials had already been withdrawn.
The dispute has also drawn wider support from media organisations and press-freedom groups, which have argued that government access cannot be restricted simply because officials object to particular coverage. With Kelly’s order to restore access, CNN, MS NOW and Politico can return to the White House while the wider legal battle over the administration’s press-access policy continues.
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