Berliner Tageblatt - CNN, MS NOW, Politico say reporters still barred from White House

The three media outlets said their reporters were turned away by the Secret Service when they tried to enter the presidential mansion.

A federal judge ruled overnight that the news organizations banned by President Donald Trump last week should have their access to the White House immediately restored.

Judge Timothy Kelly said revoking the press credentials of the media outlets "likely violated their constitutional due process rights."

"The 'general rule' is that 'individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them' of a constitutionally protected interest," Kelly wrote.

Trump has long attacked news outlets that have aired critical coverage of him, repeatedly blasting the press as the "enemy of the people."

CNN, MS NOW and Politico were barred from the White House on Friday as punishment for distributing what the president branded "fake news" and "fiction and lies."

Theodore Boutrous, who is representing the outlets, welcomed the judge's decision.

"This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law. We greatly appreciate the court's swift action," Boutrous said in a statement.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a joint lawsuit asking for a temporary restraining order against the ban on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which upholds the right to a free press.

Ahead of the ruling, the Department of Justice had argued Trump can "control reporters' access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office."

"Access to the White House is a privilege -- not a right," it said.

- 'National security'? -

The White House Press Office accused CNN in a letter to the cable news outlet of "trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information," with similar accusations leveled against MS NOW and Politico.

The letter to CNN cited several stories about the US-Iran war and a story on Trump's plans to build a military bunker below the planned East Wing ballroom which allegedly "disclosed 'top-secret' construction details."

Kelly appeared unconvinced.

"The Court is skeptical -- at least on this record -- that Defendants' interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of Plaintiffs' hard passes," the judge said.

Some journalists for the three news organizations were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday and had their passes confiscated, in the latest flare-up of the 80-year-old Republican president's assault on mainstream US media.

In a rare move, the top five US broadcasters said that they were halting pool coverage of the White House -- where a broadcaster films on behalf of all television outlets for the day -- in solidarity with 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," ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said.

The White House Correspondents' Association and nearly 50 news organizations also filed a brief with the court calling for the bans on CNN, MS NOW and Politico to be reversed.

E.Schubert--BTB