CNN, Politico and MS NOW said they are suing President Donald Trump and his administration on Monday after he banned the outlets from the White House press pool.
“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,” they shared 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.”
Together, the outlets filed a complaint and a memorandum of law in D.C. District Court, as well as a motion for a temporary restraining order. The update comes days after reporters from the news organizations were denied access to the White House press area and had their credentials revoked due to their “fake news” coverage.
“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,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
“I don’t think a court should allow fake news to be written day after day after day. I think that somebody has a right to keep them away if they’re going to write false stories all the time,” he then told other reporters later in the day. “There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to purposely tell negative stories … if they want to write them, that’s fine, but I don’t have to let them into my, into the people’s house.”
The lawsuit further accuses the administration of violating the Fifth Amendment in addition to the First Amendment.
“The President banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico, and the individual reporters covering the news for those media organizations, in disregard of the most basic guarantees of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause,” the Monday filing states. “He did so expressly for the improper purpose of retaliating against Plaintiffs for past news coverage because he deemed it ‘negative’ and chilling future reporting about him and his administration’s policies and actions.”
“As a result of the ban, [they] have lost the ability to perform the essential newsgathering at the seat of the Executive Branch, where critically important newsworthy events occur every day … The ban irreparably curtails the organizations’ speech — preventing them from being able to publish stories they otherwise would — each day it remains in effect,” the lawsuit continues. “The ban also impermissibly chills the speech of other news organizations and journalists, who must now balance conducting their constitutionally protected and vitally important work of reporting on the White House against the risk that coverage the president ‘dislike[s]’ will condemn them to the same fate.”
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