Judge extends White House access for US media outlets amid Trump standoff

US District Judge Timothy Kelly said Trump likely broke the law in banning journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico from attending White House briefings.

The decision, published late Tuesday, expands on an emergency order issued by Kelly on September 24 that temporarily reinstated access to organisations. It said Trump likely discriminated against the news organisations based on their viewpoints, in violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

He wrote that Trump’s “announcement of the ban and later remarks explaining the reason for it make this a straightforward conclusion: President Trump likely banned Plaintiffs from the White House because he believes that their reporting is generally inaccurate and biased against him”.

In announcing the ban, Trump had said the organisations “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States”.

The Department of Justice subsequently said the reporters’ White House passes were revoked on national security grounds.

“First, there is no evidence in the record that President Trump made the decision to revoke Plaintiffs’ hard passes on national security grounds from the get-go, nor at any time has he directly stated that national security was the reason for his decision,” he wrote.

The latest order stands until Kelly, who was appointed by Trump during the president’s first term, makes a final determination in the case, or until an appeals court steps in.

Trump has long been a critic of legacy US media and has previously sought to restrict access to certain organisations.

He has also lodged rhetorical attacks on individual reporters both in person and on social media, while launching an array of lawsuits against media companies.

Speaking during an October 8 hearing, Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for the three banned organisations, said Trump was seeking to “coerce better coverage”.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation was among the groups cheering the latest court ruling.

“But this fight is far from over,” senior adviser for advocacy Caitlin Vogus said in a statement.

“We have every reason to expect the administration will appeal Kelly’s latest order and also continue to prevent CNN and Politico from participating in pool coverage of the president,” she said. “Trump must not be allowed to trample on fundamental First Amendment protections by handpicking his press corps or turning pool duties into a reward for favorable coverage.”