• by Wendy Davis , Yesterday

The news organizations CNN, Politico and MS NOW on Monday sued over their ban from the White House and sought a court order restoring the press credentials that allow access to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., came on the first business day after President Donald Trump announced he was banning those organizations, characterizing them in a Truth Social post as "fake news."

"Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow," he posted on September 18.

The next day, journalists from the three organizations -- Politico's Cheyenne Haslett, CNN's Betsy Klein and MS NOW's Akayla Gardner -- were denied entry to the White House and told their press credentials had been deactivated.

The news organizations claim the White House violated the First Amendment by retaliating against them over their news stories, and also violated their right to due process of law by revoking the reporters' press passes without notice or an opportunity to object.

"There could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment," CNN and the others argue in their request for an emergency order restoring their access.

"As the Supreme Court has recognized, the First Amendment, including its guarantee of a free press, reflects 'a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials,'" they write, quoting from the Supreme Court's ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan -- the 1964 case that established modern legal standards for defamation.

"Exclusion from the White House inflicts serious irreparable harm on plaintiffs by substantially limiting their newsgathering and reporting," the companies argue.

"As a result of the ban, they have lost the ability to perform essential newsgathering at the seat of the Executive Branch, where critically important newsworthy events occur every day," they say, adding that the ban also harms the public by restricting people's ability "to access current and complete reporting on the events in the White House at a time when domestically and globally significant events are unfolding by the minute."

They note federal judges ruled in favor of journalist Brian Karem, who sued after his press credentials were summarily revoked by Trump during his first term. In that case, a federal judge ruled that the administration likely violated Karem's right to due process of law by canceling his press pass without notice. That ruling was upheld in 2020 by an appellate court.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, is presiding over the news organizations' lawsuit. In 2018, Kelly ruled in favor of Brian Acosta, then with CNN, in a similar matter. CNN and Acosta sued after his press credentials were rescinded following a contentious press conference. Kelly ordered the administration to restore Acosta's press pass, ruling that the White House failed to give him due process of law when it summarily revoked his credentials.