CNN, MS Now, and Politico Sue the Trump Administration

In response to President Trump’s September 18 banning of CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House grounds, the three news outlets sued the administration in response. “This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the outlets said in their joint lawsuit, asking the court to restore their reporters’ access to the White House.

“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” CNN, MS Now, and Politico wrote in a statement. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

President Trump took to his Truth Social account, as he is wont to do, to reply, “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.” When asked if the ban could survive a legal challenge late last week, he said, “I don’t think a court should allow fake news to be written day after day after day.”

In response to the banning of the three outlets, four other major news networks — ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC — suspended their pool coverage of President Trump, issuing a joint statement of their own alongside their pool partner CNN: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”

The impetus for this particular ban is still unclear. Trump previously tried to ban the Associated Press earlier this year, and during his first presidency, the White House rescinded credentials for journalists Jim Acosta and Brian Karem, both of whom had their access restored after separate court cases. So the law and precedent may not be on his side, though that won’t stop him from posting about fake news. In the meantime, Trump is scheduled to meet with NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday afternoon for their third face-to-face. Given the effect Mamdani seems to have on Trump’s mood, maybe the president will be cheerful enough after their talk to reinstate the three news organizations’ access without having to go to court.