CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump over White House ban; TV pool stops coverage
The three outlets say the ban violates First Amendment rights after their reporters were denied White House access and press badges were deactivated
CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Monday (September 21) sued President Donald Trump’s administration days after they were barred from covering the White House, calling the selective ban an illegal action and “a blatant violation” of the First Amendment.
The extraordinary ban of the three news outlets’ reporters, which began over the weekend, represented a clear escalation of Trump’s long-running efforts — in the courts and through administrative action — to restrict news coverage he finds objectionable or, in his words, “fake news.” They were also the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States, where the government is constitutionally forbidden from restricting the press.
Outlets challenge White House ban
The Constitution, the banned news outlets said in their lawsuit, “does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting.”
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“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,” the outlets said in a joint statement posted early Monday on X.
The three outlets filed the joint lawsuit two days after their reporters were blocked from the White House and prevented from doing their jobs. The reporters’ entry badges were disabled on Saturday, a day after Trump had suddenly announced he was barring the outlets because of reporting he found to be “fake news.”
TV pool halts presidential coverage
On Monday morning, the banned TV networks were reporting from an intersection just outside the White House complex. CNN, meanwhile, was removed from its pool duties, which are shared by the five major networks. It had been scheduled to cover the president's trip to New York for the UN General Assembly. In an email to members, the TV pool wrote there would be no replacement coverage following the White House actions.
“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” said the email, seen by The Associated Press. “This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place.” CNN’s chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, explained on air that this meant: “When the president does anything today, there will be no TV camera with the president that is broadcasting and sharing this footage” to the viewing public.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. But on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote Monday morning that he “cherished” what he called a free press.
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“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” the president said in his post. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America. It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”
Trump inaudible; NYT backs protest
The dispute over the White House media pool was underscored on Monday when viewers watching President Donald Trump inaugurate a new helipad on the South Lawn struggled to hear his remarks as the sound of a helicopter drowned out his words.
The audio failure came hours after ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC suspended their shared television pool coverage of Trump’s events. This followed Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House grounds.
In a video shared by Al Jazeera, Trump was seen cutting a ribbon on the walkway leading to the new helipad and speaking with construction workers, but his comments were largely inaudible on the White House's livestream.
CNN had been scheduled to provide the television pool feed for Trump's trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. After CNN was barred from the White House, the other major networks declined to step in.
The New York Times said it would not distribute photographs taken as part of the White House still photography pool on Monday, in solidarity with the outlets affected by Trump’s decision.
Reporters denied White House access
On Saturday, White House reporters from the two cable networks — Betsy Klein of CNN and Akayla Gardner of MS NOW — went live to report they'd been turned away, their press badges deactivated, when arriving for their jobs at the White House. Soon after, Politico said its White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry and had her badge confiscated.
All three organisations that were banned covered the White House's actions extensively during the weekend.
White House Correspondents’ Association president, Jacqui Heinrich, called on the Trump administration to immediately restore the three outlets' access.
“The implications extend beyond these organisations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future,” Heinrich said.
(With agency inputs)