District Judge Timothy Kelly declined to issue an immediate decision after a nearly one-hour court hearing but told lawyers for the media outlets and the government he would rule “as soon as I can.”
CNN, MS NOW and Politico went to court after Trump on Friday ordered that they be barred from the White House as punishment for distributing what he called “fake news” and “fiction and lies.”
The news organisations filed a lawsuit asking for a temporary restraining order against the ban on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which upholds the right to a free press.
The Department of Justice responded with a court filing that said Trump can “control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office.”
“Access to the White House is a privilege – not a right,” it said.
In an accompanying letter to CNN, the White House Press Office accused the cable news network of “trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information.”
Similar accusations were levelled against MS NOW and Politico.
The letter to CNN cited several stories about the Iran war and a story on Trump’s plans to build a military bunker below the planned East Wing ballroom which allegedly “disclosed ‘top-secret’ construction details.”
Theodore Boutrous, representing the media outlets in court on Wednesday, told the judge that in his Truth Social post on Friday announcing the bans on CNN, MS NOW and Politico, Trump “didn’t say anything about national security.”
“All of a sudden this is a national security case,” Boutrous said.
“The idea that reporters could be punished by the government simply for reporting on national security issues… that the government would rather have not be reported on is just contrary to First Amendment principles,” he added.
Journalists for the three news organisations were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday and had their passes confiscated in the latest flare-up of the 80-year-old Republican president’s years-long assault on the mainstream US media.
In a previous case involving CNN during Trump’s first term, Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the White House to temporarily restore the White House access for a CNN reporter whose pass had been revoked.
In a rare move, the top five US broadcasters said on Monday that they were halting pool coverage of the White House – where a broadcaster films on behalf of all television outlets for the day – in solidarity with CNN.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting,” ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said.
On Tuesday, Trump appeared to suggest that CNN should not be covering him outside of the White House too.
“I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You shouldn’t be here,” Trump told a CNN reporter at the UN General Assembly in New York.
On Monday evening, the White House launched a streaming channel, “Trump TV,” which it said would show “top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time.”
The billionaire former reality TV star has long attacked media outlets that have aired critical coverage of his campaigns and administrations, repeatedly blasting the press as the “enemy of the people.”
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 Iran war drags on with no end in sight. (AFP)
