Dozens of news organizations are expected to endorse a court filing this week backing CNN, MS Now and Politico’s lawsuit over their banishment from the White House, The Desk has learned.
The legal brief, formally known as an “amici curiae,” is being drafted and circulated by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and is expected to be filed with the court between Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon, according to a source familiar with the matter.
More than three dozen news organizations have been approached to sign the draft, including the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, the New York Times, ProPublica, USA Today, the Washington Post, Vox Media, the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, the E. W. Scripps Company, the Intercept and Axios, though it wasn’t immediately known if any of the outlets have committed to signing it.
A draft obtained by The Desk on Tuesday argues the White House cannot bar journalists or news organizations from access because the administration objects to their coverage. It says the First Amendment prevents government officials from restricting expression based on its message, ideas, subject matter or content.
The draft says the current dispute between the White House and the three named news organizations carries consequences beyond reporters at those agencies because other outlets might face similar restrictions in the future.
“The administration has indicated that evictions of other news organizations will follow,” the draft court filing said as of Tuesday evening. “The current ban – and any future bans – will severely impair the critical work of every news organization covering the presidency if this Court does not immediately intervene.”
The three news outlets had their access to the White House revoked over the weekend after President Donald Trump accused them of publishing critical news reports that painted him in an unflattering light.
Trump has long complained about perceived unfair news coverage, but has not banished a news outlet from a government agency or office until now.
News organizations have long depended on a pool of reporters and photographers to cover the travel and actions of a sitting president, with the White House Press Corps delegating those shared duties amongst themselves.
CNN was scheduled to be the news outlet providing television coverage at the White House for others on Monday, but its reporters were turned away at the front gate when they attempted to enter the office complex, as were journalists from the other two news outlets.
“A ban like this would be flatly unconstitutional. The First Amendment is clear that once the White House invites in some journalists, it can’t ban others because it doesn’t like their reporting,” Bruce D. Brown, the President of RCFP, said in a statement last week. “This is textbook viewpoint discrimination and will be quickly struck down by the courts if challenged.”
Brown continued: “At a time when the administration is on the defensive in a wide range of court battles with the news media, today’s attack is more than just one more provocation. It makes even plainer what is at the heart of these cases, whether it is the misuse of the FCC against broadcasters or the expulsion of journalists from the Pentagon — that the administration will come after you if it doesn’t like what you report. The president’s words are once again the best evidence of his malignant purpose.”
Other news outlets have stopped providing coverage from the White House on a voluntary basis. On Tuesday, the New York Times said its photographers will continue to document events, but won’t provide images through the pool arrangement until a court has a chance to weigh in on the matter.
