Judge restores access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico
A federal judge considers the Trump administration’s access ban probably unconstitutional.
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A US federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to make CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s press passes valid again immediately. The measure is temporary, pending further proceedings in the legal case over access to the White House.
On 18 September, President Donald Trump announced that the three news organisations were no longer welcome on the White House grounds. Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were subsequently barred and lost their permanent press passes. The organisations jointly went to court, arguing that they were being punished because of their reporting.
On Thursday, District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the administration to restore access and return the so-called hard passes. The order applies to government officials and staff carrying out the ban. According to reports on the ruling, Trump himself is excluded. Kelly ruled that the media organisations had, for the time being, made a sufficiently plausible case that their claim was likely to succeed.
The ruling is not a final judgment on the substance of the case. It concerns temporary legal protection, intended to restore the existing situation while the judge considers the case further. The administration can challenge the measure, and the final judgment may still be different.
The Justice Department had argued that access to the White House is a privilege, not a right. The administration also said that reporting by the three organisations had affected national security interests. The news organisations replied that the administration had selectively barred them because of the content of their reporting, which they said was contrary to the constitutional protection of press freedom.
The case affects more than the three newsrooms. At presidential appearances, news organisations often work with a pool: a limited group of reporters and technicians who share images, sound and information with other media. The dispute over access therefore has consequences for the way the entire news sector covers the White House.
Trump appointed Kelly in 2017, and during Trump’s first term he had already handled a case concerning the press pass of CNN reporter Jim Acosta. That makes his ruling politically notable, but does not change its legal status: the current decision is provisional. The question of whether the administration may systematically bar media organisations because of their reporting is still before the judge.
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This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The ruling, the media organisations involved and Trump’s earlier decision have been confirmed by several public sources. The article correctly describes the ruling as provisional and presents both parties’ arguments as positions.
- confirmed Judge Timothy Kelly ordered access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico to be restored. — ABC News and The Guardian describe the same court order. source
- confirmed This concerns temporary legal protection and is not yet a final judgment. — The ruling concerns a provisional measure in the ongoing case. source
- confirmed Trump announced the ban on 18 September. — NOS described the original announcement and exclusion. source
- confirmed The administration cited national security and presidential authority, among other arguments. — These arguments are described in reporting on the legal case. source
Editor's note
The temporary court measure and the earlier exclusion have been confirmed by several public sources. The final judgment on the ban’s constitutionality and any possible appeal remain uncertain.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „witte huis”
- NOS — „witte huis”
- Het Parool — „witte huis”