A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore access to the White House to three news organizations that were banned from the building by the president last week. CNN, MS NOW and Politico must regain their access for 14 days, the judge ruled, saying the ban “likely violated their constitutional due process rights.” Some media reporters said they were turned away Thursday morning. The three outlets launched a legal challenge after their reporters were denied access last weekend. The administration had defended the measure in court, accusing the media of publishing false information and threatening national security. It was unclear whether all media reporters would be readmitted to the White House early Thursday morning. CNN said some of its reporters had been denied entry and others were allowed entry. MS Now said a reporter was also denied entry and a Politico reporter said they had been turned away. The White House has not yet commented on the ruling, and lawyers representing the president may take additional legal action. Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that outside CNN, Politico and MS NOW would “likely succeed” in proving that the White House had not exercised “adequate due process” in implementing the ban. It also cast doubt on the Trump administration’s decision. arguments that the bans were motivated by national security concerns, noting that the president did not mention that in his initial announcement. When President Donald Trump announced the ban on Friday, he accused the three media outlets of writing “fake news” and “fiction and lies” in their coverage of him and his team. The court orders that their passes be reinstated while this litigation continues.” In its defense of the ban in a court filing on Tuesday, the Trump administration cited a series of articles published by the media, including some about construction at the White House, including work on a new ballroom. The judge said that “in most cases” the stories the White House took issue with were written by journalists who “didn’t even have card passes” – and in the remaining cases, the Trump administration failed to prove “reason to believe that the reporter’s possession of The Hard Pass was integral to the stories identified.” In its original filing, the Trump administration cited statements from Defense Department officials supporting the ban, but the judge said they had “no direct knowledge of how reporters operate in the White House, or about any of the facts at issue here.” rule of law.” ban. The agreement calls for media organizations to share material with each other to save costs and space when broadcasting presidential events to the American public. Forty-nine media organizations, including CBS News, The New York Times and Fox News, also filed a legal brief in support of CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s lawsuit. Trump frequently criticizes news organizations, and his administration has launched legal action against a number of outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the BBC. Some of the lawsuits have resulted in that media organizations agree to pay multimillion-dollar settlements. Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC is ongoing.
