WASHINGTON, D.C. — CNN, MS NOW and Politico have sued President Donald Trump over his administration’s decision to bar journalists from the White House complex, accusing the move of violating press freedom and the First Amendment.
The media organisations filed the lawsuit after Trump ordered their journalists to be denied access to the presidential complex, describing the decision as a direct threat to constitutional protections for the press.
“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 organisations said in a joint court filing.
The legal action was followed by a coordinated decision by five major US television networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC — to suspend pooled White House coverage in solidarity with CNN.
CNN had been scheduled to provide Monday’s White House television pool coverage, a rotating arrangement under which one broadcaster records and distributes footage for use by other television outlets.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting,” the broadcasters said in a joint statement.
The boycott means there will be no pooled television coverage of Trump’s Monday trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where the president is scheduled to meet several world leaders.
Trump, however, defended the decision and dismissed accusations that his administration was attacking the free press.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the media as a “cancer” and accused what he called “FAKE NEWS” organisations of posing a threat to the country.
“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” Trump said. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”
Media Outlets Challenge Credentials Revocation
Trump announced the media access restrictions on Friday, escalating his longstanding confrontation with news organisations that have published critical coverage of his administration.
Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday, with their press credentials confiscated.
The organisations said their credentials were revoked “without notice or process” because the White House objected to their reporting.
“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference,” they said.
In their lawsuit, the organisations are seeking an immediate reversal of the ban and a judicial declaration that the administration’s action violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects freedom of speech and the press.
Trump has not provided a detailed explanation for the decision. Responding to an AFP reporter in the Oval Office on Friday, however, he said the move was based on what he described as “cumulative stories over the last two years.”
“They want to try and diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration,” Trump said.
The president also warned that other media organisations could face similar restrictions, although he did not identify them.
Trump has for years clashed with news organisations that have criticised his political campaigns and administrations. During both terms in office, he has repeatedly accused sections of the media of unfair coverage and referred to journalists as the “enemy of the people.”
The latest dispute has intensified concerns among media organisations and press-freedom advocates over the limits of presidential authority to control journalists’ access to the White House and the public’s ability to receive independent coverage of government activities.
