Networks pull out of White House TV pool in solidarity with CNN

Major TV networks that rotate covering the president for wider media distribution say they will not do so moving forward after President Trump banned three media outlets from the White House last week.

Fox News Media, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and CNN responded to the ban in a rare joint statement, saying “the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.”

“No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” the outlets added.

The statement came after the White House pool said in a note to subscribers on Monday that “effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President.”

“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place,” the group noted.

The show of solidarity follows Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over what he says is “fake news” coverage of his administration.

Reporters for those outlets covering the White House over the weekend said their credentials were revoked , and they were not allowed access to the building.

Trump did not cite a specific story or segment that triggered the ban and said other outlets and reporters could soon be included.

The three outlets said early Monday they were preparing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the ban, likely to be argued on First Amendment grounds.

The move has sparked widespread criticism from media watchdogs, free press advocates and elected Democrats.

Trump, in a Truth Social post early Monday morning, defended the move against the backlash .

“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” he wrote online . “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”