A federal judge on Thursday forced the White House to restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, hours after the outlets were initially blocked from the grounds despite a court order. The ruling came after President Trump's decision last week to revoke the media organizations' access, a move widely condemned as an attack on press freedom.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the administration to reinstate the journalists' hard passes "immediately" following an emergency hearing Wednesday. Kelly found that the outlets' due process rights were violated because they were not given notice or a chance to contest the revocation. "Defendants do not dispute that Plaintiffs did not receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before their hard passes were revoked," Kelly wrote.
Despite the ruling, reporters and photographers from the three outlets were still barred from the White House early Thursday. Attorney Theodore Boutrous, representing the media companies, fired off a letter to the judge saying "time is of the essence," noting that CNN was scheduled to serve as the television pool for President Xi Jinping's visit to the White House that evening. Boutrous argued the administration had "already repeatedly violated the Court's Order."
The White House press office said it was notified at 7:10 a.m. to restore access and began the process at 7:25 a.m. According to a court filing, the Secret Service confirmed badges were reactivated by 9:07 a.m., and the credentials were returned to the affected reporters just after noon. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the judge's ruling.
Trump had banned the outlets last week, accusing them of publishing "fake news" and claiming their reporting endangered national security. The Department of Justice echoed that argument in court, but Kelly, a Trump appointee, sided with the press. The ruling is valid for 14 days, and it remained unclear whether the administration would appeal.
In a social media post earlier this week, Trump seemed to anticipate the legal setback, writing that he would likely 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 controversy unfolded against the backdrop of the high-stakes summit between Trump and Xi, with the two leaders meeting amid trade tensions and disagreements over issues like artificial intelligence oversight. The court's decision to reject the press ban was seen as a rebuke to the administration's efforts to muzzle critical coverage.
Press freedom groups and political observers had predicted Kelly would rule in the outlets' favor, and they welcomed the decision as a victory for the First Amendment. The case is likely to continue as the 14-day order expires, with the possibility of a longer-term injunction if the administration does not comply.
