CNN, MS NOW, Politico due back in court to fight White House ban

The Justice Department and attorneys representing CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are scheduled to return to court on Thursday to challenge President Trump's ban on reporters from the three news organizations accessing the White House. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly is currently deciding whether to grant the media outlets extended relief, following an interim order issued last month that temporarily halted Trump's bans and demanded the White House reinstate reporters' access to the complex.

This order is set to expire on Thursday. The lawyers for the three news organizations are now urging Kelly to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the White House from denying the news outlets and their correspondents access to the White House while the case is ongoing.

The lawsuit argues that the ban significantly hinders the outlets' ability to report on critical news breaking at the White House and puts all news media at risk of similar treatment if they produce favorable or fact-based reporting that the president deems unfavorable. In his temporary order, Kelly acknowledged that the news outlets likely have a strong case for due process, as their journalists were not notified of the potential consequences before being banned.

Articles from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico cited by the White House as justification for losing access were deemed routine, and in some cases, written months ago.

The White House has continued to block CNN and Politico from entering the Oval Office and Air Force One, areas typically open to the press pool, despite reporters regaining access to the complex and having their credentials returned almost 12 hours after Judge Kelly's order. The ban was announced by Trump on Truth Social, claiming that it was due to the outlets' "constant" reporting of "FAKE NEWS."

Since the announcement, reporters from each of the three outlets were turned away at the White House and had their passes confiscated by the Secret Service. The three news organizations filed their joint lawsuit on September 21, requesting a temporary injunction blocking the enforcement of the president's ban.