Judge orders Trump White House to restore access to CNN, MS Now and Politico

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore ⁠White House ⁠access ​to journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico, ⁠saying his ban on the three media outlets was ⁠likely unconstitutional.

US district judge Tim Kelly issued his order in a lawsuit that the news organizations filed ‌contesting the ban that the president announced ​on 18 September.

Kelly ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the outlets’ press passes and issued a temporary restraining order that will be in effect for 14 days. Such orders are typically designed to preserve the status quo pending a closer review of the case by the court.

Earlier on Wednesday Kelly cited past case law that clearly laid out the need for a distinct process that involved advance notice of an infraction and the opportunity to plead one’s case.

The judge said that prior cases made clear that “before a journalist’s White House hard pass was suspended or revoked, that the journalist was entitled to pre-deprivation notice and an opportunity to be heard”.

A Justice Department lawyer told the judge the Trump administration provided a sufficient explanation for the revocation of the ​press passes in letters sent to the news outlets ​on Tuesday. But the judge signalled skepticism of that argument, ​noting that the letters were sent after the revocation occurred and the lawsuit was filed.

Trump had said on social media that the three outlets “shouldn’t be ⁠able to constantly write or ​report ​FICTION and LIES,” ​and justice department lawyers ​had ‌sought to ​justify ​the ban on national security grounds.

The three outlets sued Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington on Monday, saying the ban violated the US constitution’s first amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights. They requested a temporary restraining order that would immediately reinstate their White House access while their legal challenge plays out.

In a legal filing on Tuesday, the ​Justice Department argued that access to the ‌White House is a ​privilege, not an entitlement, and that the ​president has the authority to suspend access by news organizations.

A coalition of press freedom groups and dozens of news organizations filed a legal brief on Wednesday supporting the three news outlets. They asserted that “stripping journalists and news outlets of their rights because of perceived editorial viewpoint violates decades of supreme court jurisprudence.“

The brief was signed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reuters, the Washington Post and Fox News, among others.