CNN, MS NOW journalists regain White House access after court order

A federal judge has ordered the White House to immediately restore access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, ruling that the major news outlets are likely to succeed in their legal challenge against the Trump administration.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order early Thursday, allowing the three outlets to regain access to the White House while their lawsuit proceeds.

Despite the judicial mandate, journalists from all three news organizations reported facing persistent entry barriers on Thursday morning, according to CNN.

CNN correspondent Betsy Klein and a photojournalist were denied entry to the White House grounds after multiple attempts, with security personnel providing no official reason for the refusal, while reporters from news network MS NOW and website Politico were similarly barred from entering the executive complex.

One CNN producer later gained entry using an active hard press pass, though it remained unknown why the individual was granted building access while other credentialed personnel were turned away.

A declaration filed Thursday by Micah Stopperich, director of White House Press Operations, provided a timeline for the restoration of the affected press credentials.

Stopperich said White House Operations was notified at 7.10 am EDT (1110GMT) to restore access by turning on the journalists' hard badges, and began the process at 7.25 am.

The US Secret Service indicated at 9.07 am that the badges had been reactivated and began locating the confiscated credentials, according to the declaration.

The badges were delivered to White House Operations at 9.45 am, and the White House media team took them to the entry gate for journalists to pick up at about 9.55 am.

Stopperich said the Secret Service had represented that passes that were turned on were available for pickup at the press gate once delivered.

CNN and MS NOW announced later that their journalists had regained access to the White House, ending the immediate access problems reported earlier in the day.

Kelly said the outlets were likely to prevail, at least on the argument that their press credentials were revoked without due process.

He noted that the Trump administration did not dispute that the organizations were given neither notice nor an opportunity to respond before their hard passes were revoked.

The ruling also rejected the White House's argument that national security concerns justified the decision to exclude the outlets.

Kelly pointed to Trump's own explanation for the ban, noting that when the president announced the decision, he focused on what he described as the outlets' inaccurate and negative reporting rather than national security concerns.

Trump announced the ban last Friday, accusing the three organizations of repeatedly publishing what he called “FAKE NEWS.”

He said other media organizations could face similar treatment.

The president later described the move as a ban on the “free press” and said he did not want the outlets inside the White House.

Judge cites First Amendment right to free press

Trump also said the decision was based on what he characterized as years of negative coverage rather than any individual report.

The three news organizations challenged the decision in court, arguing that the administration had retaliated against them because of their reporting.

They also argued that the policy could pressure other journalists to alter their coverage out of concern that they could face similar restrictions.

In his ruling, Kelly said the First Amendment protects the press from government action based solely on an official's disagreement with the content of its reporting.

The attorney representing the three news organizations, Ted Boutrous, described the ruling as a strong affirmation of freedom of the press, due process, and the rule of law.

The news outlets said that by revoking their access to the White House without giving them a chance to appeal the decision, Trump had violated their right to due process, as well as right to a free press.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the White House Correspondents’ Association, and a group of 49 news and media organizations filed a legal brief supporting CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.

The filing argued that the ban was based on the content of the outlets' reporting and so conflicted with First Amendment protections.

The groups argued that the government's action improperly restricted access to the White House and its grounds because of the viewpoints expressed in the outlets’ coverage.

Trump had criticized Kelly ahead of Wednesday's hearing, calling him “totally disloyal” in a social media post and indicating that the administration would appeal an unfavorable ruling Trump appointed Kelly to the bench in 2017.​​​​​​​