CNN, Politico and MS NOW announced Monday that they plan to take legal action against the Trump administration after the White House barred their reporters from the building last week. President Trump had accused the three outlets of publishing “fiction or lies” about his administration, and the companies say their journalists were physically turned away and had their press credentials confiscated when they tried to enter on Saturday.
In a joint statement, the outlets said the lawsuit aims to “protect our First Amendment rights” and uphold the principle that government officials cannot dictate what the press covers. The First Amendment to the US Constitution bars the government from restricting freedom of the press, and courts have long read that to mean officials cannot punish media outlets simply for how they report the news.
The dispute follows months of escalating tension between Trump and the press corps. In February, his administration took direct control of the White House press pool—the rotating group of journalists who cover the president up close and share footage and notes with other outlets—ending more than a century of oversight by the White House Correspondents’ Association. That same month, the Associated Press was barred from restricted spaces like the Oval Office after refusing to adopt the administration’s preferred term “Gulf of America”; AP’s own lawsuit over that ban is still pending.
Trump has also pursued legal action against other major outlets, including the New York Times and the BBC, with some cases ending in costly settlements. For the full story, read the original BBC report.
Source: CNN, MS NOW and Politico to file lawsuit against Trump's White House ban (feeds.bbci.co.uk).
Image: Martin.Ehrenhauser, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).