Court Orders Trump to Allow CNN, MS NOW, and Politico into the White House — Reuters

A U.S. federal court has ordered the Donald Trump administration to restore access to the White House for journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. Judge Tim Kelly considers the president’s ban likely unconstitutional.

 

U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly ruled that the press credentials of journalists from the three publications must be restored immediately. At the same time, he barred the administration from enforcing the restrictions for 14 days.

The ruling came after CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s September 18 decision. The news organizations argued that the ban violates the guarantees of freedom of speech and the press enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as their right to due process.

Kelly rejected the administration’s arguments that the access restrictions were related to national security. According to the judge, the evidence presented was insufficient to justify revoking the journalists’ press passes.

“The case file lacks factual evidence to support the defendants’ claims that revoking the plaintiffs’ press passes will actually protect national security or that national security would be threatened if the court orders their passes to be reinstated while this lawsuit is pending,” he said.

At the same time, Trump himself justified the decision by citing complaints about media coverage of his activities. On social media, the president stated that these outlets “should not be allowed to constantly write or report FABRICATIONS and LIES.”

Lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice insisted that access to the White House is a privilege, not a right, and that the president has the authority to restrict it for certain media outlets.

However, Kelly also drew attention to the procedure for revoking press credentials. In his view, journalists may not have been given a real opportunity to appeal the decision before their access was terminated.

Source: Reuters

As a reminder, a U.S. court is currently hearing a lawsuit filed by media outlets challenging Trump’s ban.

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Earlier, Germany rejected Trump’s call to withdraw from the International Space Station.