US Judge Orders Trump White House To Restore CNN, MS Now & Politico Press Access
· Free Press Journal
A federal judge has directed the Trump administration to temporarily restore White House access to journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico, saying the ban imposed on the three media organisations was likely unconstitutional.
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US District Judge Tim Kelly issued the order in a lawsuit filed by the three news organisations challenging the ban announced by President Donald Trump on September 18.
Kelly directed the administration to immediately restore the outlets’ press passes and issued a temporary restraining order that will remain in force for 14 days, The Guardian reports. Such orders are generally intended to maintain the status quo while a court conducts a closer examination of a case.
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Earlier on Wednesday, Kelly referred to previous case law that clearly established the need for a specific process involving advance notice of an alleged infraction and an opportunity for the journalist concerned to present a case.
The judge said previous cases made clear that “before a journalist’s White House hard pass was suspended or revoked, that the journalist was entitled to pre-deprivation notice and an opportunity to be heard”.
A Justice Department lawyer argued that the administration had provided sufficient reasons for revoking the press passes in letters sent to the news outlets on Tuesday.
Kelly, however, signalled scepticism about the argument, noting that the letters were sent only after the press passes had been revoked and the lawsuit filed.
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Trump had said on social media that the three outlets “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES,” while Justice Department lawyers sought to defend the ban on national security grounds.
CNN, MS Now and Politico sued Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington on Monday. They argued that the ban violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights.
The outlets sought a temporary restraining order to immediately restore their White House access while their legal challenge proceeds.
In a legal filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department maintained that access to the White House was a privilege rather than an entitlement and that the President had the authority to suspend news organisations’ access.
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Media Groups Back Three Outlets
A coalition of press freedom groups and dozens of news organisations filed a legal brief on Wednesday in support of CNN, MS Now and Politico.
They asserted that “stripping journalists and news outlets of their rights because of perceived editorial viewpoint violates decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence.“
The brief was signed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reuters, the Washington Post and Fox News, among others.