A federal court in Washington has temporarily blocked the Donald Trump administration’s ban on access to the White House for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico. Judge Timothy Kelly ordered their press passes to be reinstated immediately and suspended the ban for 14 days. Initially, some journalists were still denied entry following the court’s ruling, but the White House subsequently restored their access.
Briefly about the main points
- The court has temporarily suspended the White House ban.
- Access has been restored to CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
- The decision will remain in force for at least 14 days.
- The main court case concerning the ban is still ongoing.
The court ordered that journalists’ access be restored immediately
US District Judge Timothy Kelly On 24 September, a temporary court order was issued requiring President Donald Trump’s administration to restore journalists’ access to the White House CNN, MS NOW and Politico. MS NOW is the current name of the TV channel that previously operated under the MSNBC brand.
The order will remain in force 14 days, whilst the court considers further claims by the media companies. It does not constitute a final ruling on the case, but temporarily prevents the administration from enforcing the restrictions imposed by Trump.
Kelly has reached the preliminary conclusion that the withdrawal of journalists’ permanent press passes probably took place without due constitutional procedure. The judge also questioned the administration’s arguments regarding threats to national security.
Why did Trump ban three media organisations from operating in the White House?
The US President announced the restrictions on 18 September. The following day, journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were barred from entering the White House, and their permanent press passes were deactivated or confiscated.
Trump publicly accused these media in the false and excessively negative portrayal of his administration. Later, lawyers from the US Department of Justice justified the restrictions, in particular, on the grounds of national security.
Judge Kelly noted that the evidence provided by the government contained little factual evidence to suggest that restoring journalists’ access would pose a threat to national security. He also pointed out that when the ban was first announced, Trump had focused specifically on the content of media publications.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico have filed a joint lawsuit
Three media organisations have taken their case to the federal court 21 September. They claimed that the administration’s decision violated their rights to freedom of the press and due process, as the journalists’ press passes had been revoked without prior notice and without the opportunity to appeal against the decision.
At this stage, the court has not issued a final ruling on all the media companies’ constitutional claims. The interim order is intended to preserve their access to the White House whilst the case is being heard.
Initially, the court’s decision was not enforced
On the morning of 24 September, a new dispute arose. Despite the court order already having been issued, certain journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were once again denied access to the White House grounds. Representatives of the media applied to the court for an urgent hearing.
The administration subsequently restored access.
The White House informed the court that the process of returning press passes had begun following receipt of official notification of the ruling. By midday, representatives from all three publications had already been able to return to work at the presidential complex.
Following this, Kelly refused to hold a separate emergency hearing regarding the failure to comply with the ruling.
What's next
The interim court injunction is valid for just two weeks. CNN, MS NOW and Politico must file a motion to a preliminary injunction, which would allow them to retain access to the White House for a longer period — until the main proceedings are concluded. The court set a deadline of 28 September for this.
So, journalists from the three media organisations are now once again able to work in the White House, but the dispute itself between the Trump administration and the media organisations not yet completed.
