Judge blocks Trump’s White House media ban, restores access

President Donald Trump’s ban on three major outlets including CNN, Politico and MS Now has suffered a legal setback as a federal judge ordered the President to restore White House access to journalists from these outlets.

As per the ruling issued by the US District Judge Tim Kelly, such ban on three media outlets was likely unconstitutional.

"The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard ⁠passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds," the judge said.

Kelly also ordered the Trump administration to revoke the restrictions for press and immediately return the outlets’ press passes while rejecting the concerns that the ban was necessary for protecting national security.

However, the White House has not yet responded to the ruling and judge’s order. Last week, these three outlets filed a lawsuit against Trump when President Trump blocked their White House press access over promoting untruthfulness and negativity.

They said in a joint statement, “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting.”

“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

The dispute revolves around whether journalists are entitled to due process before losing White House access, or if such access is merely a presidential privilege.

Judge Kelly expressed skepticism toward the Justice Department's arguments, noting that the targeted outlets were banned without prior notice and that explanatory letters were sent only after the lawsuit was filed.

The legal battle that came just three weeks ahead of the midterm election also drew industrywide support as the ban violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment aimed at protecting free speech and press freedom.