Washington DC : A US federal judge on Tuesday (local time) blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to bar journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, ruling that the administration's decision to revoke their press credentials likely violated their constitutional rights.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Trump, granted a preliminary injunction, allowing reporters from the three news organisations to retain access to the White House grounds while their lawsuit against the administration proceeds.
In a 26-page ruling, Kelly found that the revocation of the journalists' hard passes likely infringed their rights under the First and Fifth Amendments to the US Constitution. The decision reinforced the judge's earlier legal reasoning that the administration's action was likely retaliatory and violated constitutional protections for the press.
Explaining his assessment of the president's decision, Kelly wrote that Trump's objections to the outlets' reporting appeared to have motivated the restrictions. “President Trump likely banned Plaintiffs from the White House because he believes that their reporting is generally inaccurate and biased against him,” Kelly wrote in the ruling.
The judge also rejected the Justice Department's argument that national security concerns had at least partly prompted the decision to withdraw the journalists' credentials. "First, there is no evidence in the record that President Trump made the decision to revoke Plaintiffs’ hard passes on national security grounds from the get-go, nor at any time has he directly stated that national security was the reason for his decision," he wrote.
The ruling follows a legal challenge brought by CNN, MS NOW and Politico after the Trump administration announced restrictions on their reporters' access to the White House. The news organisations argued that the decision was an act of retaliation over their coverage of the president and therefore violated the First Amendment's protections for freedom of speech and the press.
The outlets also alleged that the administration violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights by revoking their press credentials without prior notice that their reporting could result in the loss of access or providing them an opportunity to respond before the decision was taken. Trump announced the restrictions last month, accusing the three organisations of engaging in what he described as "constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS."
The following day, journalists from the affected outlets who arrived at the White House were denied entry, while their press credentials were taken by the US Secret Service. CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit on September 21, challenging the administration's decision and arguing that their journalists had been singled out because of their reporting.
The day after the lawsuit was filed, the White House Press Office sent letters to the organisations confirming the president's initial decision to revoke their journalists' credentials and giving them until September 25 to respond.
The White House maintained that the journalists had failed to meet standards of professionalism and had published articles that raised national security concerns.
However, Kelly's latest ruling rejected the administration's national security justification, noting the absence of evidence that such concerns had motivated the original decision to revoke the credentials. Trump had previously indicated that his administration would challenge an adverse ruling. In a post on Truth Social last month, he said the Justice Department would appeal if Kelly ruled against him.
The preliminary injunction will remain in effect as the legal proceedings continue, allowing reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico to access the White House while the court considers the broader constitutional questions raised by the dispute.