A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on three news outlets from the White House, finding the president likely violated their constitutional rights.
The ruling came late Tuesday from a judge Trump himself appointed. It allows reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico to continue accessing White House grounds while their lawsuit moves forward.
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The administration argues the outlets violated professional standards and posed national security concerns. The news organizations say Trump targeted them because he objected to their coverage.
Judge rejects national security argument
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly found that the ban likely violated the news organizations’ First Amendment and due process rights.
In his ruling, Kelly wrote, “It is likely that President Trump’s revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes is the sort of action that would deter a reasonable reporter or news organization from publishing stories to which he objects.”
Kelly also questioned the administration’s national security justification, noting that Trump raised those concerns only after the organizations’ press passes had been revoked.
He said the administration provided little evidence to support its argument.
“There is practically nothing national security-related in the record connected to the President’s decision to revoke Plaintiffs’ hard passes to which the Court can defer,” Kelly wrote.
The order restores the outlets’ access to White House grounds while the underlying lawsuit proceeds. It does not, however, guarantee access to more restricted settings, including the Oval Office or Air Force One, where Trump frequently speaks with reporters.
The news organizations’ attorney, Theodore Boutrous, welcomed the ruling in a statement provided Tuesday to CNN’s Brian Stelter. Boutrous accused Trump of using the ban to punish unfavorable reporting and pressure journalists to cover him more positively.
“The harm this ban did to our clients, the First Amendment, and the public as a whole is profound,” he said.
Trump vows to fight press ban ruling
Tuesday’s preliminary injunction extends a temporary order Kelly issued last month blocking the ban. Trump previously vowed to appeal any ruling restoring the outlets’ access.
“Almost without question and, as usual, we’ll go for appeal because Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown ‘sources,’ shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The ruling keeps the three outlets’ White House access in place for now, but the broader legal fight over the administration’s authority to restrict press credentials remains unresolved.
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