CNN, MS NOW and Politico have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after their journalists were barred from the White House and had their press credentials revoked.
The three outlets announced the legal action on Monday, saying they aim to restore access and protect their First Amendment rights.
In a joint statement, they said: “This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”
They added: “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
The move follows President Donald Trump’s announcement on Friday that he was banning the three organisations from White House grounds. He accused them of reporting “FICTION and LIES” about him, his administration and the United States.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that media outlets “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America.”
At an Oval Office event, Trump said he supports a free press but wants a “fair and honest” one. “It’s sick. I mean, there’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stuff. Now, if they want to write them, that’s fine. But I don’t have to let them into my, into the people’s house,” he said.
Reporters from the three outlets were turned away on Saturday and had their press passes confiscated. CNN was also removed from its scheduled role as the television pool representative for the White House press corps on Monday.
CNN had previously called the ban an “illegal assault” on its constitutional right to report without government interference, describing its coverage as “fair and accurate.”
The lawsuit seeks to challenge the exclusion in federal court and restore the journalists’ access.
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