President Donald Trump Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America The United States Justice Department has requested that a federal judge dismiss the emergency application submitted by CNN, Politico, and MS NOW to get their reporters readmitted to the White House. In a court document filed on Tuesday evening, the government’s lawyers justified President Donald Trump’s decision to ban the three organizations. They stated that access to the building is a privilege, not a right. The lawyers also stated that the outlets had published classified or sensitive information, which is why the ban relates to national security; furthermore, they argued that a court order lifting the ban could raise separation-of-powers concerns, as reported by Bloomberg News.
The context is that on Monday, the three outlets filed a lawsuit against Trump. They claim that he is retaliating against them for the way they have reported the news, an action which violates the First Amendment protection of a free press. They also assert that the ban came into effect without any prior notice or opportunity to challenge it, contrary to their Fifth Amendment right to due process. “This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the outlets said in their lawsuit. The government’s argument extends to those three news organizations.
As stated by ABC News, the department wants the president to consider journalists’ views when granting access and has also requested that a landmark ruling safeguarding reporters’ access be set aside. As quoted by CNN, the department stated that at the very least the government might control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office, on the grounds of viewpoint discrimination. The document contains letters sent by the White House Press Office to each of the organizations in question. These letters allege that all three have violated the standards of professionalism and decorum and have spread false claims regarding national security.
The letters refer to particular stories, such as reports on the war in Iran, coverage of Trump’s White House ballroom, and sanctions on Russia according to Bloomberg. They also mention a Politico Playbook report about the Republican midterm convention in Dallas and an MS NOW report from August concerning the munitions used by the United States in the Iran conflict. The letters, however, are dated September 22, four days after Trump announced the ban on Truth Social. At that point, the reporters Betsy Klein, Cheyenne Haslett and Akayla Gardner had already been turned away at the gates.
The media outlets now have until 5 p.m. on Friday, September 25, to respond or the decision will become final. At the same time, over 40 media companies and press organizations, including NBCUniversal, the owner of NBC News, have submitted a brief in support of the banned outlets, NBC News stated. The major television networks have also halted their live broadcasts of Trump since the ban came into effect. The ban comes after Trump has already imposed restrictions on journalists, such as the 2025 limitation on the Associated Press, which was also decided by the same court.
This year, the United States dropped to 64th place in the RSF press freedom index, its lowest-ever ranking. Moreover, press freedom organizations have taken legal action against Trump for his paid Truth Social feed. Trump first called the policy “the ban on the free press”, but on Monday said it targeted fake news rather than press freedom. Timothy Kelly, who was appointed to the position by Trump, will consider the outlets’ application for a temporary restraining order on Wednesday afternoon.
In 2018, Judge Kelly had instructed the White House to reinstate the press pass for CNN correspondent Jim Acosta, and Trump has stated that he will appeal any decision against him.
