Freedom of the press

Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were readmitted to the White House Thursday, hours after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to restore their press credentials. The three outlets initially remained blocked Thursday morning even after the ruling, with Politico saying a reporter's badge was confiscated and CNN and MS NOW reporting denied entry, prompting an emergency court filing before access was granted by midday.

Trump announced the ban last Friday, citing what he called "fake news," before the administration later argued the outlets' reporting endangered national security. Kelly rejected that justification, finding the revocation likely violated due process and that Trump's own statements showed the ban was motivated by dissatisfaction with negative coverage rather than security concerns. The order lasts 14 days while litigation continues. In solidarity, the five-network White House press pool, including CNN, has withheld footage of Trump's events. The dispute unfolded amid high-profile coverage of Xi Jinping's visit and the U.N. General Assembly.

CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) and Politico filed a joint lawsuit against the Trump administration after their reporters' White House press credentials were disabled over the weekend, calling the move an illegal "viewpoint discrimination" violating the First Amendment. Trump had announced he was barring the outlets over coverage he called "fake news," and reporters from all three organizations were turned away and had their badges deactivated on Saturday.

CNN was also removed from its rotating pool duties covering the president, and the broader TV pool said no replacement would cover presidential events in its place. The White House countered that access is "a privilege, not a right," while Vice President JD Vance called the outlets' coverage "far-left propaganda" and said the ban did not restrict their ability to report. Trump defended the move on Truth Social as targeting "fake news" rather than a free press he claims to "cherish." The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, follows similar litigation by the Associated Press over prior access restrictions. Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson is so far the only Republican lawmaker to publicly criticize the ban, though Mediaite reports others privately call it problematic.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington seeking to restore White House access after their reporters were denied entry and had press credentials revoked following Trump's announcement banning the outlets over what he called "fake news" coverage. The suit, naming Trump, aide Steven Cheung, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secret Service Director Sean Curran, argues the ban violates First Amendment press freedoms and 14th Amendment due-process rights, calling it unconstitutional "viewpoint discrimination." It cites the 1977 Sherrill v. Knight precedent barring arbitrary denial of press passes based on coverage content, as well as the earlier Jim Acosta case.

Trump denied targeting a free press, calling it instead an "assault on the FAKE News." The White House Correspondents' Association backed the outlets, warning the standard could be applied to any news organization. Separately, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News said they would no longer supply camera crews for White House pool coverage after CNN was removed from pool duties, leaving no television crews traveling with Trump to the UN General Assembly.