A US judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico after the three news organisations challenged their exclusion from the building.
Judge Timothy Kelly of the District of Columbia court issued a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to reinstate the outlets’ access for 14 days while the legal dispute continues.
The judge ruled that the organisations were “likely” to succeed in showing that the White House had failed to provide adequate due process when it withdrew their access.
The legal challenge followed the confiscation of reporters’ White House passes and the subsequent denial of access to the three organisations.
The Trump administration defended the decision in court, accusing the outlets of publishing false information and arguing that their exclusion was necessary for national security. The court, however, questioned the administration’s justification.
Kelly also expressed doubts about the national security argument, noting that Trump had not referred to national security when he initially announced the restrictions.
The ruling stated: “The record lacks factual support for Defendants’ contention that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the Court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds.”
In court filings defending the restrictions, the administration pointed to several reports published by the affected outlets, including coverage of construction work at the White House, such as the development of a new ballroom.
However, Kelly found weaknesses in the administration’s argument, saying that “in most cases” the reports it objected to were produced by journalists who “did not even hold card passes”.
He added that in the remaining cases, the administration had failed to show there was a “reason to believe that the reporter’s possession of the hard pass was integral to the stories identified”.
The administration had also submitted statements from Department of Defence officials in support of its position. Kelly said those officials had “no direct knowledge of how reporters operate in the White House, or about any of the facts at issue here”.
The judge concluded that CNN, Politico and MS NOW were “likely to succeed” in establishing that the White House had not provided “adequate due process” before taking action against their access.
Ted Boutrous, the lawyer representing the news organisations, welcomed the ruling.
“This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law,” Boutrous told CNN.
The dispute has also prompted other media organisations to take action. On Monday, major US television networks withdrew from White House pool duties in protest against the restrictions.
The White House media pool allows participating organisations to share coverage and materials from presidential events, reducing the cost and space required for individual outlets to cover activities involving the president.
Separately, 49 media organisations, including CBS News, The New York Times and Fox News, filed a legal brief supporting the lawsuit brought by CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
The White House has yet to publicly respond to Kelly’s ruling, while lawyers representing the president could seek further legal action.
Trump has frequently criticised news organisations, while his administration has pursued legal action against several media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.
Some of those cases have ended with media organisations agreeing to multi-million-dollar settlements, while Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC remains ongoing.
