White House bars POLITICO from Air Force One — TIME
In the United States, the White House did not allow POLITICO to board Air Force One and serve as the print pool representative during President Donald Trump’s trip to Nebraska for a campaign rally. TIME reports.
The Washington Post correspondent Catherine Doyle noted in a pool report that the White House blocked POLITICO’s representative from traveling. According to her, no replacement for the outlet could be found, so there was no primary print pool representative on this trip. Doyle served as the secondary pool representative.
CBS, designated as the television pool representative that day, also relayed its reports to other media outlets. CBS News representative Josh Gross stressed that none of these newsrooms replaces POLITICO as the print pool representative.
The White House position
A White House representative told TIME that media outlets, including POLITICO, can obtain access to cover presidential events, but flying on Air Force One is a privilege, not a right. He also called Trump the most accessible president in U.S. history and said the administration intends to continue providing the press with an unprecedented level of access.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The White House pool system provides for journalists from different media outlets to take turns accompanying the president and sharing information with the rest of the newsrooms. This allows broader coverage of events where space for the press is limited, including aboard the presidential aircraft.
Legal dispute over access
POLITICO is among three media outlets, along with CNN and MS NOW, that Trump announced on September 18 would be barred from access to the White House, accusing them of spreading “fake news.” The following day, journalists from these outlets were denied entry through the White House gates and had their press credentials taken away.
POLITICO, CNN, and MS NOW filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging violations of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the right to due process under the Fifth Amendment. On September 24, federal judge Timothy J. Kelly issued a temporary restraining order for 14 days and ordered the media outlets’ access to be immediately restored, stating that the ban likely violated their constitutional due process rights.
Earlier, the White House also did not allow CNN to fly on Air Force One to serve as the television pool. POLITICO, CNN, and MS NOW asked the court to block the ban until the case is resolved, arguing that the administration is applying the restrictions inconsistently. A hearing on this motion was scheduled for Thursday.
