Judge Orders Trump Administration To Restore CNN, MS NOW, Politico White House Access

A US federal judge has ordered the Donald Trump administration to immediately restore White House access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico, after reporters from the three news organisations were barred from the premises.

Judge Timothy Kelly of the District of Columbia court issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday, directing the administration to reinstate the media organisations’ access for 14 days.

The judge ruled that the decision to revoke the reporters’ White House hard passes “likely violated their constitutional due process rights.”

CNN, MS NOW and Politico had filed a legal challenge after their reporters’ passes were confiscated and they were denied access to the White House.

In his ruling, Kelly said the three outlets were “likely to succeed” in proving that the White House had failed to provide “adequate due process” before implementing the ban.

The Trump administration had defended the decision, accusing the news organisations of publishing false information and posing a threat to national security.

However, the court rejected the argument, with Kelly expressing doubt over the administration’s claim that national security concerns motivated the ban.

The judge noted that Trump did not mention national security when he initially announced the restrictions.

The ruling stated: “The record lacks factual support for Defendants’ contention that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the Court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds.”

The administration had cited several reports published by the affected outlets, including stories concerning construction work at the White House and plans for a new ballroom.

But Kelly said that “in most cases” the reports criticised by the White House were written by journalists who “did not even hold card passes”.

He added that in the remaining cases, the administration had failed to show “reason to believe that the reporter’s possession of the hard pass was integral to the stories identified.”

The Trump administration had also submitted declarations from Department of Defence officials in support of the ban.

The judge, however, said the officials had “no direct knowledge of how reporters operate in the White House, or about any of the facts at issue here.”

Reacting to the ruling, Ted Boutrous, the lawyer representing the three news organisations, told CNN: “This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law.”

The White House has yet to comment on the decision, while lawyers representing Trump could seek further legal action.

The ruling came days after major US television networks withdrew from White House pool duties in protest against the ban.

The White House media pool allows news organisations to share coverage of presidential events, helping them reduce costs and overcome space limitations while providing the American public with access to presidential activities.

Meanwhile, 49 media organisations, including CBS News, The New York Times and Fox News, filed a legal brief supporting CNN, MS NOW and Politico in the lawsuit.

Trump has frequently criticised news organisations, while his administration has also initiated legal action against several media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.

Some of the lawsuits have ended with media organisations agreeing to multi-million-dollar settlements, while Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC remains ongoing.