CNN, MSNBC, and Politico gained access to the White House again on Thursday after a ruling from a federal judge. This ruling followed a lawsuit from these media outlets against a ban issued by the U.S. government on September 18.
The Judge's Ruling and Its Reasons
District Judge Tim Kelly stated in his ruling that the ban is likely illegal. He also noted that this ruling should be enforced for 14 days.
Theodore Boutrous Jr., a media attorney, stated in a statement: "This is a strong ruling that affirms press freedom, due process, and the rule of law. We greatly appreciate the court's swift action."
Government's Reasons and the Judge's Opposition
On Thursday morning, reporters from the three mentioned media outlets were initially barred from entering the White House. However, later in the day, it was announced that their access to the White House had been restored. Judge Kelly rejected the government's claim that national security concerns prompted this ban.
He said: "The evidence does not support the defendants' claim that revoking journalists' access genuinely serves national security." Kelly also pointed out that Trump himself initially cited only "dishonesty and negativity" from the media as the reason for the ban.
In a session on Wednesday, Kelly noted that two previous rulings from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia established that access to the White House press could only be revoked after following due process. He added that the banned media did not seem to have a fair opportunity to contest this ban.
This ban has led other media outlets to take actions in support of these outlets and suspend joint coverage of Trump events.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice stated in a filing that access to the White House is a privilege, not a right, and the President has the authority to deny access to media. The media, in turn, claimed that they were targeted because of the content of their reports and deemed this ban a "blatant violation" of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
