The Trump administration’s ongoing war with the press just graduated from petty White House grumbling to an actual federal lawsuit.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico announced Monday that they are suing the Trump administration after the White House revoked their journalists’ access and credentials, arguing that the ban violates their First Amendment rights and constitutional protections. According to ABC News, the outlets say the administration punished them because it objected to their reporting, without providing notice or an opportunity for the journalists to challenge the decision.
The dispute began after Donald Trump announced that the three outlets would be barred from the White House, accusing them of producing what he called “fiction and lies” about him and his administration. Trump later insisted that the move was not an attack on the free press, but rather an attack on what he describes as “FAKE NEWS,” which he claimed represents a national security threat. He also suggested that additional media organizations could face similar restrictions.
Because apparently the standard for presidential press coverage is now whether the president likes what he reads.
Journalists from the three organizations were turned away from the White House over the weekend, with one CNN reporter saying a Secret Service agent told her that her press badge had been deactivated. The lawsuit argues that the ban amounts to retaliation for protected speech and violates both the First Amendment and Fifth Amendment due process protections.
The outlets also warn that this could create a chilling effect throughout the media industry. If the administration can revoke access whenever a news organization produces coverage Trump considers unfavorable, other journalists could reasonably worry that aggressive reporting could cost them their own credentials.
Former President Barack Obama reacted to the absurd news during a speaking engagement at Colgate University.
Via The Independent:
“My imagination could not foresee some of the stuff that’s going on right now,” Obama said during an appearance at Colgate University. “I’m trying to think what would have happened if I had said, ‘You know what, Fox News? You’re out of here.’”
The Friday comments drew laughter and applause, with Obama saying, “It’s unimaginable.”
Now, CNN, MS NOW and Politico are asking the courts to decide whether the president can effectively control access to the White House by controlling which news organizations he likes.