IN BRIEF
- The banning of three media outlets from the White House is likely unconstitutional, a US federal judge has ruled.
- The judge has temporarily blocked officials from enforcing the ban that Donald Trump announced on 18 September.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico were allowed back into the White House on Friday, six days after being banned by US President Donald Trump, after a federal judge ordered that the journalists have their access restored.
District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled overnight that revoking the White House press credentials of the three media outlets "likely violated their constitutional due process rights."
Reporters for CNN, MS NOW and Politico who attempted to return to the White House late on Thursday ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping were initially turned away by the Secret Service but were later allowed in.
Journalists from other outlets surrounded CNN's tent on the White House driveway and filmed reporter Betsy Klein as she reported live following her return. "Welcome back," several journalists said.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico had requested an urgent court hearing on Thursday after their reporters were initially barred from the White House despite the judge's order.
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In his ruling, Kelly took issue with how the White House went about expelling the three news organisations.
"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," the judge said.
Trump has long attacked media that have aired critical coverage of him, repeatedly blasting the press as the "enemy of the people."
The Republican president barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House on Friday for distributing what he called "fake news" and "fiction and lies."
They 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 that 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 levelled 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, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, 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.
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 organisation because it objects to its reporting," ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said.
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