Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
CNN, MS NOW and Politico have taken legal action against the administration of US President Donald Trump over the exclusion of their journalists from the White House and the revocation of their press credentials.
The three media organisations said on Monday that they filed a First Amendment lawsuit seeking to restore their journalists’ access to the White House and challenge the government’s decision to restrict their reporting access.
The lawsuit follows a series of events that began on Friday, when Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House. He accused the outlets of publishing what he described as “FICTION and LIES” about him, his administration and the United States.
The restrictions were enforced on Saturday, September 19, when journalists from the three organisations were denied entry to the White House. The reporters’ press passes were also confiscated, according to reports by Reuters, ABC News and The Associated Press.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, the three organisations said, “This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”
The statement added, “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.”
CNN had earlier described the proposed restriction as an “illegal assault” on its constitutional right to carry out journalism without government interference, maintaining that its reporting was “fair and accurate” and protected by the US Constitution.
Trump defended the White House press ban in a post on Truth Social, saying, “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America.”
Speaking to reporters at an Oval Office event after the post, Trump said he supported a free press but wanted what he called a “fair and honest press.”
“It’s sick. I mean, there’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stuff. Now, if they want to write them, that’s fine. But I don’t have to let them into my, into the people’s house,” Trump said.
The dispute has also affected CNN’s role within the White House press corps. Reuters reported that the White House removed CNN from its scheduled Monday assignment as the television pool representative and from accompanying Trump to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
The lawsuit places the dispute over White House media access, press freedom and journalists’ First Amendment rights before a federal court. The three organisations are challenging the revocation of their credentials and their exclusion from the White House without prior notice or process.
