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White House restores press access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico following federal court order

What happened

President Donald Trump announced a ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House on September 18, citing "fake news" and unfavorable coverage.

Following the ban, journalists from the three outlets were denied entry to the White House and had their press credentials deactivated.

CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit challenging the restrictions on First Amendment grounds, and a federal judge subsequently issued a temporary order blocking the ban.

Despite the court order, reporters were initially blocked from the White House on Thursday morning, preventing them from covering the arrival of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, before regaining access around noon.

Why it matters

U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly found that the revocation of press credentials likely violated the journalists' constitutional due process rights, and the legal dispute over these credentials may persist for several weeks.

Major television networks, including FOX News, ABC, CBS, and NBC, suspended their pooled coverage of the president in solidarity with the banned outlets.

Context

The White House press corps consists of journalists assigned to cover the president and government administration, with offices located in the West Wing.

President Trump previously attempted to ban journalists from the White House twice during his first term, with judges ruling those actions unconstitutional.

Sources 30 sources

This briefing cites 20 publishers across 20 detected independent reporting streams.