US media outlets to sue Trump administration after White House ban

WASHINGTON: Three leading US news outlets announced on Monday (Sep 21) they will go to court after being banned from the White House, as President Donald Trump claimed that media critical of his administration is a "Cancer" threatening national security.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico said in a joint statement that they were filing suit after Trump last week ordered them to be barred from the presidential complex.

The ban marks a major escalation in Trump's years-long assault on the US media, especially on outlets that report critically on him and his administration.

"This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes," CNN, MS NOW and Politico said in their statement.

The outlets said the White House revoked their journalists' credentials "without notice or process" because it "objected to our reporting".

"Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference," they said.

"GROWN LIKE CANCER"

Trump was unrelenting on Monday, writing on social media that his administration was not targeting "the Free Press" but was "instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer".

"It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control," Trump claimed, writing it was a "threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!"

Trump has not detailed what prompted the ban but said: "Media Outlets shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States."

The 80-year-old Republican - who has long had a fiery relationship with the mainstream media - warned on Friday that other outlets could face a similar fate but did not say which ones.

CNN had been scheduled to serve Monday as the White House TV pool, a rotating assignment in which a broadcaster films on behalf of all television outlets for the day. Updated media guidance from the White House late on Sunday simply listed a backup crew.

Trump has long attacked media outlets that have aired critical coverage of his campaigns and administrations.

In 2017, he blasted the press as "the enemy of the American people".

Through both terms in office he has claimed journalists have failed to show sufficient appreciation for his accomplishments. Trump has also stood out in presidential history for routinely insulting journalists he doesn't like, both in person and on social media.