By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The White House has again excluded CNN from a traveling press pool covering President Donald Trump, leaving the network off the television pool assignment for his trip to Texas and Oklahoma as a federal court fight over the administration’s treatment of CNN, MS NOW and Politico continues.
CNN was not listed as the television pool outlet scheduled to cover Trump during the trip, a source told The Hill Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to the publication’s request for comment.
The exclusion comes less than a week after CNN was prevented from traveling aboard Air Force One with Trump to a Tennessee-Texas college football game. That decision followed a federal judge’s temporary order restoring White House access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico after Trump had barred the three organizations from the complex.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Sept. 24 after finding that the administration had likely denied the news organizations constitutionally adequate due process when their credentials were revoked. The order restored their access to White House grounds, but it did not explicitly require the administration to provide CNN with a seat aboard Air Force One or other presidential travel access.
That distinction has become central to the widening dispute. CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to court this week seeking a preliminary injunction that would protect their access while their lawsuit proceeds, arguing that the administration has “persisted in unpredictably and inconsistently implementing its ban” even after Kelly’s order.
Their attorneys specifically pointed to CNN’s exclusion from White House pool assignments and presidential travel as evidence that the controversy was not resolved when the outlets regained their physical credentials.
CNN spokesperson Emily Kuhn confirmed the latest removal but offered no additional comment. The network previously called its exclusion “a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process.”
The White House press pool is a rotating group of journalists that accompanies and covers the president when space or security limitations prevent the full press corps from attending. Pool reporters, photographers and television crews provide their material to other news organizations, making participation significant beyond the outlet assigned on a particular day.
CNN is one of the major television networks that traditionally rotates through those responsibilities. Its attorneys argue that selectively removing the network from pool duties deprives it of access available to comparable organizations and interferes with its ability to cover the president’s daily activities.
The administration has disputed the broader legal claim that news organizations have an unrestricted right to White House or presidential access. It has defended its authority to determine who participates in restricted press settings, while Trump has repeatedly accused CNN, MS NOW and Politico of unfair or inaccurate coverage.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the administration after Trump announced in September that they would no longer be permitted on White House grounds. Their lawsuit alleges the ban was imposed because of their reporting and therefore violated both First Amendment protections and due-process requirements.
Kelly’s temporary order focused on due process rather than finally resolving the outlets’ First Amendment claims. The judge ordered their credentials restored for 14 days while the litigation moved forward, but questions surrounding pool assignments, Air Force One and other forms of presidential access have remained contested.
The three organizations renewed their request for court intervention Monday, asking Kelly to issue a longer-lasting preliminary injunction. Their filing argues that the administration’s handling of access since the temporary restraining order demonstrates a continuing risk of exclusion.
CNN’s attorneys said the administration is granting access to Trump and his official activities “unpredictably and inconsistently,” causing ongoing harm to the network’s newsgathering operations. They contend that a court order limited only to entering White House grounds is insufficient if the administration can continue excluding the network from significant presidential events and travel.
The White House is required to respond to the latest filing by Friday, Oct. 2. The court will then determine whether the temporary protection should be replaced by a preliminary injunction that could remain in force while the underlying lawsuit is litigated.
Until then, CNN’s reporters retain access to the White House complex under Kelly’s existing order, but the latest pool assignment illustrates the unresolved question at the heart of the dispute: how far constitutional and procedural protections for White House press credentials extend when the president travels beyond the White House grounds.
Original article
Comments