Politico was scheduled to accompany President Trump to Nebraska for his campaign rally as the primary pool representative for the travel pool, a rotating group of journalists who cover presidential trips. But the White House blocked the outlet’s rotation, Politico confirmed Monday.
The move by the White House is the latest development in a struggle over presidential access that began on Sept. 18 when Mr. Trump declared a ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico and barred them from White House grounds. CNN has been stopped from traveling with the president twice in the separate TV pool, a partnership of five major TV networks that supplies footage from presidential events of all sorts.
The news outlets sued the White House to overturn the ban, and a federal judge ordered the restoration of the outlets to the grounds. But the order didn’t explicitly address the outlets’ pool assignments.
In a statement, the White House praised Mr. Trump’s accessibility and argued that traveling with the president is a privilege, not a right.
The court order halting the White House’s ban expires on Thursday. That same day, Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is scheduled to hear arguments concerning a request by the media outlets for a longer reprieve. They have asked the judge to restore the access they had before Sept. 18, which included pool assignments.
They argue that the ban discriminates against the outlets based on their reporting — an instance of unconstitutional “viewpoint discrimination,” they say — and that they weren’t given due process to challenge the White House’s actions.
The government has countered that the president has the authority to “control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas.,” according to a recent filing.
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