Key Points
- ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC suspended their shared television pool coverage of presidential events after CNN was ousted from the White House press pool on Monday.
- CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration Monday after President Donald Trump barred the three outlets from the White House grounds.
- The outlets argue the ban violates the First Amendment and was imposed because the president objected to their reporting.
- Reporters from the three organizations were denied access to the White House on Saturday after Trump announced the ban Friday.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration Monday after President Donald Trump barred the three news organizations from the White House grounds, escalating a dispute over press access and coverage of the presidency.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues the ban violates the First Amendment and unlawfully punishes the outlets because the president objects to their reporting. The outlets are asking the court to restore their White House access and requested emergency relief while the case proceeds.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” CNN, MS NOW and Politico said in a joint statement cited in reports. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
Trump announced the ban Friday, accusing the three outlets of publishing “fake news.” Journalists from the organizations were denied access to the White House on Saturday, and CNN was blocked from serving in its scheduled role as the primary television pool representative for presidential coverage Monday.
The dispute also disrupted the White House television pool, the long-running system in which major television networks rotate responsibility for covering the president and sharing video with the broader press corps. ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC said Monday they would suspend pooled television coverage of presidential events after the White House prevented CNN from performing its assigned duties.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the five television networks said in a joint statement. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
The television pool suspension meant Trump’s scheduled travel to the United Nations General Assembly would not receive the normal shared network television coverage. Other forms of pool coverage, including print, radio, wire and still photography, were expected to continue.
Trump defended the ban Monday on Truth Social, writing that the White House was “not instituting an assault on the Free Press” but targeting what he called “FAKE NEWS.” Vice President JD Vance also defended the restrictions, telling reporters the outlets were losing “special access” rather than the ability to publish or speak.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump nominee who handled CNN’s 2018 lawsuit after the White House revoked correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass. In that case, Kelly ordered the White House to restore Acosta’s credential, finding the administration had not provided adequate due process.
The current lawsuit follows other recent legal challenges over White House press access. Courts have previously scrutinized efforts to revoke credentials or restrict access when the action was tied to the content or viewpoint of a journalist’s reporting.
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