Court orders Trump administration to immediately restore White House access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico

The court ruled that the Trump administration must immediately restore White House access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico

The District of Columbia Court has ordered the US presidential administration to restore White House passes without delay for the CNN and MS NOW television channels, as well as for the Politico publication, which Donald Trump banned from entering the building last week.

Federal Judge Timothy Kelly concluded that the White House revoked the journalists' passes without complying with the "due process required by the Constitution." As CNN notes, this decision means that reporters will be able to return to work at the White House.

The judge found that the Trump administration had not provided sufficient grounds to support its claims that the restriction of access was related to national security concerns. After the ban was introduced, Trump and his lawyers claimed that access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico was revoked because their reporting raised national security concerns.

"To be sure, President Trump spoke of something quite different when he announced the 'ban' on the plaintiffs visiting the White House: he referred to the allegedly false and negative nature of their reporting... Even the justifications presented to the plaintiffs after the lawsuit was filed do not provide a clear definition of the true purpose of revoking the passes," the judge's decision reads.

The judge also pointed out that the Trump administration did not notify the journalists of the opportunity to appeal the decision before confiscating their passes.

The judge's ruling will be in effect for 14 days. During this period, the media outlets and the Trump administration will be able to continue presenting their arguments.

On September 18, Donald Trump banned journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from entering the White House, accusing them of publishing "fake news."

CNN was also excluded from the television pool under the US President. Following this, all television channels included in the White House pool announced that they were suspending coverage of events involving Donald Trump.

On September 21, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit in court demanding that their journalists' access to the White House be restored. They stated that the ban violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees, among other things, freedom of speech and the press.

Nearly 50 media organizations, including CBS News, the New York Times, and Fox News, also filed a court petition in support of the lawsuit by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.