US judge restores White House access for three outlets
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
A US federal judge has ordered the White House to restore access for CNN, Politico and MS NOW after President Donald Trump barred the three outlets from covering the White House. The ruling came in the form of a temporary restraining order that pauses the ban for 14 days and requires the administration to let the outlets return during that period. Judge Kelly said the revocation of their credentials lacked constitutionally required due process, and also said the government had offered little evidence to support its claimed national security justification. The order was issued only hours before Trump was due to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping
Key Points
- Trump said on September 18 that CNN, Politico and MS NOW would be barred from the White House as punishment for what he called spreading fake news
- The three outlets filed a civil lawsuit, arguing the White House ban violated press-freedom protections under the First Amendment to the US Constitution
- Federal District Judge Kelly found the outlets had sufficiently shown their reporting access was improperly revoked, meeting the legal test for emergency relief
- The court ordered the White House to suspend enforcement of the ban for 14 days and immediately restore access for the three media organisations
- Trump and his lawyers argued the outlets had previously reported material raising national security concerns, but the judge said the government provided almost no supporting evidence
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the case is a closely watched test of how far a US administration can go in restricting media access while still claiming to uphold constitutional press protections. It also matters because the ruling came just before a high-level meeting involving Xi Jinping, underlining how access disputes can affect coverage of major international events followed closely in Asia