US Judge Orders Trump to Restore Access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico

A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump to restore White House access to journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico after he banned these media outlets from the premises. The ruling was issued on Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed by the news organizations contesting the ban, which was enacted on September 18. District Judge Tim Kelly stated that the ban was likely unconstitutional and must remain in place for 14 days. He rejected the government's argument that the ban was based on national security concerns, noting that the record did not support the claim that revoking the journalists' hard passes would protect national security. Kelly highlighted that Trump had initially cited an 'alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity' in the reporting by these outlets as the reason for the ban. During a hearing, Kelly referenced two previous rulings from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which established that White House press passes can only be revoked after due process. He indicated that the banned news outlets had not been given a proper opportunity to contest the ban. The Justice Department had argued that access to the White House is a privilege, not an entitlement, and that the president has the authority to deny access to news organizations. The affected outlets contended that they were targeted due to the content of their coverage and described the ban as a 'blatant violation' of the First Amendment, which guarantees free speech to US citizens.