Judge extends order allowing CNN, Politico, MS NOW White House press access

A federal judge on Tuesday issued a longer block on President Trump’s ban of three major news organizations from the White House, finding that the revocation of the outlets’ hard badges likely violated their constitutional rights.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly wrote in a late-night ruling that the preliminary injunction was meant to preserve the “status quo” while CNN, Politico and MS NOW’s lawsuit continues.

The Trump-appointed judge found that the three outlets were likely to succeed in their claims that the administration engaged in viewpoint discrimination and retaliation when it excluded them from the White House. He reiterated an earlier ruling that the outlets were likely not given enough due process.

“For all the reasons explained elsewhere, it is likely that Plaintiffs were selected by President Trump for revocation of their access to the White House press area because he believes their coverage of him and his administration is generally inaccurate and biased,” Kelly wrote.

“Simply put, that is unlawful viewpoint discrimination,” the judge added.

The outlets sued the Trump administration after they were barred from access the White House grounds last month, arguing that it was designed to punish them for what the president viewed as unfavorable coverage. Lawyers pointed to Trump’s suggestion that the decision was based on cumulative negative coverage rather than individual stories as evidence.

The Justice Department cited national security concerns as the justification for the media access restrictions, with the administration criticizing the use of anonymous sources and accuses the outlets of being “fake news.”

“The harm this ban did to our clients, the First Amendment, and the public as a whole is profound,” Ted Boutrous, an attorney representing the outlets said in a statement. “The Court was right to enjoin the White House from enforcing this ‘unconstitutional ban on the free press’ for the foreseeable future.”

Kelly cautioned that his Tuesday order should not be interpreted to “suggest that President Trump’s concerns about accuracy and fairness in the media’s reporting are unfounded” or that the government cannot take any action when its “true aim is to protect national security when classified information is unlawfully disclosed.”

Still, the judge rejected the notion that national security was the driving rationale behind the president’s decision.

“There is no evidence in the record that President Trump made the decision to revoke Plaintiffs’ hard passes on national security grounds from the get-go, nor at any time has he directly stated that national security was the reason for his decision.”

This was the second time Kelly has ruled in the case, having previously handed down a temporary restraining order that required the administration to immediately restore CNN, Politico and MS NOW’s access.

The order comes as the feud between Trump and the media has only ramped up, with the Justice Department announcing over the weekend that it was opening an antitrust investigation into the five major television networks after they temporarily suspended press pool coverage during the ban.