In an order posted shortly after midnight, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said the media outlets had met the legal thresholds needed to obtain a temporary restraining order, which include likelihoods of succeeding on the merits of the case and of suffering irreparable harm without an order.
A federal judge early Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s move to ban three news outlets from the White House grounds and said CNN, MS NOW and Politico must have their access restored.
It’s the latest development in an escalating showdown between President Donald Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes. Trump announced he was banning the outlets Sept. 18, assailing what he called “fake news.” More recently, the president has said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.
The outlets argued they were singled out because of the content of their coverage — in other words, viewpoint discrimination — and called the ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment.
Judge orders White House to restore press access to MS NOW, CNN and Politico
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore White House access for now to journalists working for three national news organizations in a victory for the news media that the president has increasingly targeted during his second administration.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said that reporters for MS NOW, CNN and Politico should all immediately regain access for at least 14 days. Kelly granted the motion on due process grounds, and is refusing to stay his ruling in the interim, meaning the order goes into effect now.
The ruling comes just a few hours after Kelly heard arguments on Wednesday and less than a week after the three national media organizations sued Trump and top administration officials over the ban. Lawyers for MS NOW, CNN and Politico alleged the ban constitutes viewpoint discrimination and violates the First Amendment. Trump argued he was barring the organizations from White House coverage because he thinks their coverage is unfavorable to him.