Judge Rules Trump Likely Violated First Amendment by Banning Media Outlets from White House

A federal judge has extended access for several media organizations that President Donald Trump had attempted to ban from the White House. US District Judge Timothy Kelly stated that Trump likely acted unlawfully in prohibiting journalists from CNN, MS Now, and Politico from attending White House briefings.

The decision, released late Tuesday, builds upon an emergency order from September 24 that temporarily restored access for these organizations. Judge Kelly indicated that Trump likely engaged in viewpoint discrimination against the news organizations, which is a violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

In his written opinion, Kelly explained that Trump’s “announcement of the ban and later remarks explaining the reason for it make this a straightforward conclusion: President Trump likely banned Plaintiffs from the White House because he believes that their reporting is generally inaccurate and biased against him.” Trump had previously stated that these organizations “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States.”

The Department of Justice had later asserted that the reporters' White House passes were revoked on national security grounds. However, Judge Kelly rejected this claim in his ruling. “First, there is no evidence in the record that President Trump made the decision to revoke Plaintiffs’ hard passes on national security grounds from the get-go, nor at any time has he directly stated that national security was the reason for his decision,” he wrote.

This latest order will remain in effect until Judge Kelly, who was appointed by Trump, makes a final ruling in the case or until an appeals court intervenes. Trump has a history of criticizing legacy US media and has previously attempted to limit access for certain organizations. He has also frequently attacked individual reporters verbally and on social media, in addition to filing numerous lawsuits against media companies.

During an October 8 hearing, Theodore Boutrous, an attorney representing the three banned organizations, argued that Trump was attempting to “coerce better coverage.” The Freedom of the Press Foundation expressed support for the judge's ruling, with senior adviser for advocacy Caitlin Vogus stating, “But this fight is far from over. We have every reason to expect the administration will appeal Kelly’s latest order and also continue to prevent CNN and Politico from participating in pool coverage of the president. Trump must not be allowed to trample on fundamental First Amendment protections by handpicking his press corps or turning pool duties into a reward for favorable coverage.”