White House defies federal judge’s order to restore press access for three outlets

Three US media outlets accused the White House of repeatedly violating a federal judge’s order to restore their press access. Journalists from CNN, Politico, and MS Now were denied entry on Thursday morning, with Secret Service agents confiscating hard passes from some reporters whose credentials had not previously been seized. The defiance came hours after US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order directing the administration to immediately restore access to the three outlets, ruling that Trump’s ban likely violated their constitutional due process rights.

The standoff unfolded as Trump hosted Xi Jinping. CNN said senior White House reporter Betsy Klein was denied entry despite multiple attempts on Thursday morning, though a producer was allowed in. Politico said one of its reporters was barred and had credentials confiscated. MS Now reported that White House reporter Laura Barrón-López and a producer were blocked and had passes taken. Another MS Now producer was admitted.

Kelly, a Trump appointee, issued the order late Wednesday night. It will last for 14 days. He said the three outlets were likely to win their lawsuit, “at least on their Fifth Amendment due process claim.” The judge said he was bound by two federal appeals court rulings from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit requiring advance notice and an opportunity to be heard before press passes are revoked, “full stop.”

The ban and the legal response

Trump announced the ban last Friday, accusing the outlets of writing “fiction or lies” about his administration. By Saturday morning, all three reported being denied entry to the White House grounds and having their badges confiscated. They sued on Monday. In a joint statement, they said they were pursuing legal action to “defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports.” The outlets argued in their civil complaint that Trump’s statements about the ban bolstered their claim that he was violating their First Amendment rights by targeting them for what they reported.

The Justice Department later argued the ban was necessary for national security, listing examples of articles that relied on non-public information. Kelly was unswayed. He wrote that “nothing in the record that predates this suit suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns.” He noted that Trump himself had focused on “the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity” of the reporting when announcing the ban, not on any security rationale. Some of the reporting cited by the administration stretched back months or years, the judge observed, and nothing in the letters suggested an urgent need to act.

The letters sent to each outlet on Tuesday informed them they had “exhibited behavior in violation of the standards of professionalism and decorum” expected of White House access holders, including “trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information.” Justice Department attorney Michael Kenneth Velchik argued that the letters laid out a process, giving the outlets until 5 p.m. Friday to contest the ban. Kelly disagreed. He called the standard “so vague it hardly does the trick” and noted that even the defendants did not dispute that the outlets received no notice or hearing before their passes were revoked.

Broad media solidarity

The ban drew immediate condemnation across the media industry. Fox News, NBC, CBS, and ABC suspended their televised White House coverage in solidarity. More than 50 media organizations across the ideological spectrum filed an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit, including Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. ABC, serving as the president’s TV pool on Thursday, refused to enter any events during Xi’s visit until receiving proof that CNN, the banned fifth member of the standard TV pool rotation, had been allowed back on site.

Lawyers for the three outlets requested an emergency hearing, asking for a video or telephone conference as soon as possible Thursday morning. Kelly gave the administration until 12:30 p.m. to respond to the outlets’ filing. Theodore Boutrous Jr., an attorney for the outlets, called the ruling “a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law.” The White House had not commented on the ruling. Lawyers for the president may take further legal action.

By late morning, Reuters reported that MS Now and CNN had been granted access again. CNN confirmed that Betsy Klein was allowed to reenter the White House on Thursday. The White House press office did not return a Guardian email seeking comment. Kelly declined a Justice Department request to delay the temporary restraining order from taking effect immediately, and noted that such orders are generally unappealable.