News outlets Trump banned from White House announce lawsuit

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images POLITICO, CNN, and MSNOW are suing Trump after their journalists were banned from the White House.

The outlets are seeking to immediately restore White House access.

They say the ban violates the First and Fifth Amendments.

Three news organizations whose journalists were banned from the White House last week are suing President Donald Trump and three top advisers, calling the abrupt lockout a "direct assault on the First Amendment." POLITICO, CNN and MSNOW said in a joint statement Monday that they are bringing the federal lawsuit in a bid to immediately restore access for their reporters, who were denied entry to the White House complex on Saturday and had their credentials confiscated by the Secret Service.

"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 news organizations said.

"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 organizations are asking a judge on the U.S.

District Court in Washington. to quickly rule Trump's ban unconstitutional and prevent his aides from enforcing it.

White House and Department of Justice spokespeople did not immediately return requests seeking comment.

The White House's exclusion of the journalists followed an announcement from Trump on Truth Social Friday that he was banning reporters for the three outlets "effective immediately." Trump's post was vague about the reasons for the ban , beyond complaining about "constant 'reporting'" of what he called "FAKE NEWS!" as well as "FICTION and LIES." During an Oval Office photo op Friday, Trump offered few specifics.

"It's really just cumulative stories over the last few years.

You get sick of it," Trump said.

"They're smart people, but they purposely write negative news." The news organizations, represented by Theodore Boutros, Jr. of law firm Gibson Dunn, are filing suit against Trump, chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and Secret Service Director Sean Curran.

The news outlets argue that the president's ban violates the Constitution in multiple ways: The abrupt cancellation of White House access without notice violated the organizations' Fifth Amendment due process and property rights, and the retaliation for the content of their reporting violated their First Amendment rights.