Trump expecting district court loss over lawsuit from CNN, MS NOW, Politico

President Trump railed against the judge who has been assigned to a case seeking to challenge his ban on three media outlets from covering the White House and telegraphed he might be forced to let the journalists working for the trio back in the building.

“They have drawn a great Judge, for them,” Trump said of U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who oversaw the White House’s temporary ban on a press credential belonging to former CNN reporter Jim Acosta during Trump’s first term. “In other words, almost without question and, as usual, we’ll go for appeal because Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown ‘sources,’ shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World.”

The Oval Office, Trump continued in his Truth Social post , “should be treated with Decorum, Respect, and Dignity, not defiled by Third Rate Clowns, who purposefully distort, twist, and degrade with everything they write or publish.”

Trump last week banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from covering the White House for what he called publishing “fake news” — a matter of national security, he argued.

The outlets sued on First Amendment grounds Monday, with a number of press freedom groups and each of the major news networks voicing solidarity with the three media outlets in response to the ban.

The TV pool typically covering the president on a daily basis did not travel with Trump on Monday in response to last week’s ban, which resulted in a number of reporters having their credentials revoked over the weekend.

First Amendment attorneys and media observers expect the news outlets to succeed in court, while the episode highlights Trump’s ongoing war with the press dating back to his first term.

“Why should I have to give ‘access’ to such people? Perhaps Judge Kelly could explain that,” Trump wrote in his post. “In any event, I have an obligation to fight for the Success and Safety of our Country. FAKE NEWS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY, and I will do whatever is necessary to make sure that the U.S.A. thrives.”

A hearing in the case is slated for Wednesday afternoon.