Judge blocks CNN, MS NOW, Politico ban

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Trump administration must immediately reinstate White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, a US federal judge ordered Thursday, after their reporters were banned from the premises.

Trump has long attacked media outlets that have aired critical coverage of his campaigns and administrations, repeatedly blasting the press as the “enemy of the people.”

The three outlets were barred from the White House by the billionaire former reality TV star on Friday as punishment for distributing what he branded “fake news” and “fiction and lies.”

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a joint lawsuit asking for a temporary restraining order against the ban on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which upholds the right to a free press.

Judge Timothy Kelly found that the revocation of press passes “likely violated their constitutional due process rights,” according to the eight-page ruling issued Thursday.

“The ‘general rule’ is that ‘individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them’ of a constitutionally protected interest,” Kelly wrote.

The judge said that press credentials held by employees of the three outlets will be reinstated “until further Order of the Court or the expiration of this Temporary Restraining Order,” which is to remain in effect for 14 days.

Kelly added that the order cannot be immediately appealed.

Ahead of the ruling, the Department of Justice had argued Trump can “control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office.”

“Access to the White House is a privilege — not a right,” it said.

The White House Press Office accused CNN in a letter to the cable news outlet of “trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information,” with similar accusations leveled against MS NOW and Politico.

The letter to CNN cited several stories about the US-Iran war and a story on Trump’s plans to build a military bunker below the planned East Wing ballroom which allegedly “disclosed ‘top-secret’ construction details.”