CNN, MS NOW and Politico can be shut out from areas of the White House at President Donald Trump’s request, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday, a day ahead of a court hearing.
The court filing said that letters explaining the president’s reasons for the ban had been sent to the outlets on Tuesday. They have until Friday to object.
The Department of Justice said in a court filing that Trump can “control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office. The letters cite numerous “reporting incidents” by the outlets that “threatened national security and spread falsehoods,” according to the filing. The letter to CNN cited a story on Trump’s plans to build a bunker below the East Wing ballroom he is constructing, which “disclosed ‘top-secret’ construction details,” and several stories about the Iran war, the network said. “This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the outlets said in the court filing.
Earlier reporting noted: ‘White House access privilege, not right’: DOJ cites national security behind Trump barring reporters File photo: An updated solidarity sign adding CNN, MSNOW and POLITICO hangs outside the Associated Press booth at the White House grounds after US President Donald Trump banned three major news outlets – CNN, MS Earlier reporting noted: The Trump administration has told a federal court that the president can restrict reporters’ access to the White House, including on the basis of their reporting, arguing that protecting national security gives him broad authority over who can enter the complex. But the ban comes at a time when his approval ratings are at record lows, his Republican Party risks losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, and the war in the Middle East drags on with no end in sight.
Earlier reporting noted: In a court filing late Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that “access to the White House is a privilege, not a right” and said the administration could deny journalists access to restricted presidential areas even for “viewpoint-discriminatory reasons”.
