White House press ban set to continue for now after hearing ends without ruling
A judge on Wednesday appeared skeptical of Trump administration arguments justifying the White House barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico, but he did not immediately grant the news outlets' request for a temporary restraining order.
Why it matters: In declining to rule right now, the White House has no legal mandate to remove the ban.
That means the broader press boycott will likely drag on, leaving the American public without key visual coverage of the White House.
Outlets that weren't banned stood in solidarity with their peers, vowing to suspend video and photo distribution until their peers' access was restored.
Zoom in In a statement, U.S.
District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, said the president's sudden move to strip reporter credentials appeared to violate legal precedents that require journalists to be given notice, per Politico .
He said he planned to issue a ruling on the plaintiff's request for injunctive relief soon.
Catch up quick: The banned outlets sought a temporary restraining order to restore access while the case is litigated through a lawsuit filed on Monday.
A ruling in their favor would mark a huge win and indicate the judge believes their case would likely hold up in court.
In their complaint , the outlets argued the White House violated their First Amendment rights, by blocking them in retaliation for their reporting and discriminating against their viewpoints, and their Fifth Amendment rights for banning them without due process.
The other side: In a court filing Tuesday, the Justice Department argued press access is a privilege, not a Constitutional right, and that it revoked the plaintiffs' press passes for national security reasons.
Zoom out: The news industry has broadly supported the banned outlets.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, along with 50 news outlets — including Axios — filed a court brief in support of the plaintiffs.
Flashback: Kelly oversaw a CNN lawsuit against the White House over blocked access in 2018.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.axios.com — the content belongs to Axios.
