Three national news organizations that have been banned from the White House by Donald Trump are suing the president.
CNN, MS NOW, and Politico notified the administration on Monday that they were filing a critical First Amendment lawsuit to restore their access.
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the three news organizations said in a joint statement.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” they added. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
Trump, who has long decried negative media coverage of him as “fake news,” announced on Friday he was banning CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House in a typical Truth Social meltdown.
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” the 80-year-old president. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
The network’s reporters were then denied entry to the White House on Saturday, and the Secret Service confiscated their credentials.
Trump’s move has been widely condemned as an attack on press freedom and a violation of the network’s First Amendment rights.
The lawsuit accuses the president of a “chilling” attempt to restrict future reporting about him and his administration’s policies and actions.
“President Trump has said in no uncertain terms that he would prefer only to be covered by news organizations and reporters who praise his administration,” the suit states.
“But the Constitution does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting. The ban is unconstitutional and should be immediately restrained.”
Ted Boutrous, a legendary First Amendment lawyer, is representing all three news outlets in the suit against the president.
Trump responded to the lawsuit in another raging Truth Social post on Monday morning.
“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,” he wrote.
“It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”
As president, Trump has frequently tried to silence or restrict the press he dislikes.
In 2018, then-CNN anchor Jim Acosta had his press pass revoked by the White House after he confronted Trump about his comments regarding a migrant caravan. A judge later ordered that Acosta’s credentials be restored.
Trump has tried to bar the Associated Press from the White House press pool because the news wire service refused to acknowledge the president’s attempts to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” via an executive order.
The 80-year-old president also has a worrying habit of attacking female reporters who dare question him.
This includes lunging towards ABC News’ Rachel Scott while telling her “not you” as he tried to avoid her questions about his dubious plan to pay every American adult $5,000 if the GOP wins the midterm.
Trump has previously accused Scott of being “the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place,” called CNN’s Kaitlan Collins “stupid and nasty,” shushed and told a Bloomberg reporter, “Quiet, piggy!” and described The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman as “unattractive both inside and out.”
