A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday requiring the Trump administration to reinstate press credentials for three media organizations whose White House access was revoked by President Trump on Saturday. CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a joint lawsuit challenging the ban, arguing that their constitutional rights were violated. The three outlets sought legal relief to continue reporting from the White House while the case proceeds.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, ruled that the White House likely violated the news organizations’ due process rights by revoking their credentials without adequate notice or opportunity to be heard. The judge noted that previous court decisions had established due process protections for journalists holding permanent White House credentials. In his order, Kelly directed White House representatives to immediately return and reinstate the press passes for the three news organizations.
The Trump administration defended the ban through the Department of Justice, arguing that the outlets’ reporting jeopardized national security and spread false information. White House letters dated September 22 accused the organizations of publishing sensitive material and verifiable falsehoods on various topics. However, Judge Kelly expressed skepticism about the national security justification, finding no evidence that any of the identified reporting actually damaged national security. He also noted that some stories the administration cited stretched back months or years, questioning the urgency claimed by the government.
President Trump stated on Friday that the ban resulted from accumulated “unfair and negative coverage” rather than any specific reporting incident. During an emergency hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for the news organizations characterized the action as First Amendment retaliation and viewpoint discrimination. Justice Department lawyers countered that White House access constituted a privilege rather than a constitutionally protected right. Judge Kelly rejected this argument, finding that the vague standards applied and the lack of formally articulated conduct rules before the revocation violated constitutional protections.
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