WASHINGTON — U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly has ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, temporarily blocking the administration from enforcing its ban on the three news organizations.
The ruling comes after the three outlets challenged President Donald Trump’s September 18 decision to bar them from the White House. The organizations argued that the restrictions violated their First Amendment protections and due-process rights.
Judge Kelly said the journalists’ press credentials had been revoked without constitutionally adequate notice and an opportunity to challenge the decision. He ordered the administration to return their press passes and blocked enforcement of the ban for 14 days while the legal dispute continues.
The administration had argued that White House access is a privilege and defended the restrictions, including on national-security grounds. Kelly, however, said the record did not provide sufficient factual support for the national-security justification at this stage.
Trump had announced the ban on social media, accusing the three outlets of publishing what he described as “fake news” and saying other media organizations could potentially face similar action. The outlets subsequently challenged the decision in federal court.
The case now moves forward as the court considers the broader constitutional and procedural questions surrounding White House press access and the government’s authority to restrict journalists’ credentials.
