CNN Boss Mark Thompson Vows to Fight Trump’s White House Press Ban ‘To the End’
“We’re never going to back down,” Thompson says after a federal judge blocks the administration’s restrictions on CNN, MS NOW and Politico The post CNN Boss Mark Thompson Vows to Fight Trump’s White House Press Ban ‘To the End’ appeared first on TheWrap .
Mark Thompson, CNN's chairman and editor-in-chief, pledged on Wednesday to contest President Donald Trump's attempt to limit access to the White House for his network's journalists "to the end." This vow came after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, ostensibly protecting CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from Trump's alleged violation of the First Amendment.
Speaking on CNN, Thompson hailed the ruling as a "really big boost" and a "vote of confidence in free speech and our right, not so much for ourselves but on behalf of the public everywhere."
The judge, Timothy Kelly, blocked the administration from reinstating its ban on the three outlets while their lawsuit proceeds. The judge found the networks likely to succeed on their First Amendment and due process claims. Despite this, the White House pledged to appeal the decision.
Thompson also addressed the Justice Department's investigation into CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC over a coordinated suspension of White House press pool coverage. The DOJ is scrutinizing whether the networks violated antitrust laws through a collective boycott. Thompson assured that his network would cooperate with the investigation, seeking to understand its implications while remaining "ever vigilant and always prepared to fight."
Recalling a similar situation in 2009 when the Obama administration tried to exclude Fox News from interviews with a Treasury official, Thompson highlighted the importance of news organizations standing together regardless of political differences. "We support each other because we know that this can be something which happens with governments of the left, governments of the right, governments of the center," he said.
He cautioned that governments can lose patience with critical coverage, thereby putting fundamental rights at risk.
Thompson stressed that CNN would continue fighting regardless of the legal costs, vowing, "No matter how many court cases, investigations, court appearances, and all the expense that that entails, we will fight this one to the end."
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