Despite a directive from a U.S. federal judge that required the White House to immediately restore access to the outlets CNN, MS Now, and Politico, the White House continues to deny reporters entry. According to reports from the affected U.S. media organizations themselves, the Secret Service confiscated the press badge of a Politico reporter on Thursday morning. Furthermore, CNN staff, along with a reporter and a producer from MS Now, have also been denied access.
The federal judge had previously argued that the President’s ban was “likely unconstitutional,” specifying that the accreditations had been revoked without proper process. This ruling came after U.S. President Donald Trump excluded the three media organizations the previous week.
Trump had previously stated on social media that he expected a decision against him from the federal judge he had appointed, and that if he lost, he would appeal. The court rejected the White House’s justification that the exclusion was related to “national security.” Instead, Trump publicly cited the alleged untruth and negativity in the reporting of the targeted media as the reason for their exclusion.
The affected media organizations argued in their lawsuit that Trump’s action constituted retaliation aimed at influencing their coverage. They stressed that the Constitution does not permit restricting press freedom based on dissatisfaction with the content of reporting. The court’s decision currently grants these media outlets access for a period of 14 days as the legal dispute remains unresolved.
