The Trump administration has defended the president’s ban on CNN, Politico and MS NOW from covering the White House, claiming he did so over “national security” concerns.
In court filings submitted Tuesday, the Justice Department also argued that Trump should be allowed to pick and choose which media outlets get to cover the White House, and that the three outlets Trump has banned failed to live up to the levels of “professionalism and decorum expected.”
“After all, access to the White House is a privilege—not a right,” the filings state.
White House officials responded in court documents to a lawsuit filed Monday by CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which claim the president’s media ban violates their First Amendment rights. The organizations also said they received “zero advance notice” that the president would ban a news outlet over coverage he “dislikes.”
The White House argues the outlets lost their “privilege” of access after “trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information.”
The DOJ also sent each outlet a letter citing the specific stories it was concerned about. These included CNN reporting on “top secret” information about the bunker being built under the White House ballroom, as well as several stories by the network about the Iran war.
The White House complained to Politico about a report that described the “very bad” vibes at Trump’s flop GOP midterm convention in Texas.
The filing also argues that there is historical precedent for presidents deciding which members of the press can cover them. The filings cite President George Washington, who hand-picked reporters to print his Farewell Address “based on political considerations.”
“The President has found that Plaintiffs have engaged in a number of reporting incidents that have threatened national security,” the filings state.
“The President determined that Plaintiffs have failed to maintain minimum professional journalistic standards by publishing classified and national security information.”
Ted Boutrous, a prominent First Amendment lawyer representing the three media outlets, was not impressed with the White House’s arguments.
“This is an exceptionally weak response. We look forward to the hearing,” he told Politico.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2017, will hold an emergency hearing Wednesday to consider the media outlets’ request for a temporary court order to revoke the ban.
In 2018, Kelly ruled against Trump by restoring the press pass of then-CNN anchor Jim Acosta after his credentials were revoked by the White House following a confrontation over Trump’s comments about a migrant caravan.
In a Monday Truth Social post, Trump appeared to accept that he could lose the First Amendment lawsuit because Kelly is overseeing the case, adding that, “as usual, we’ll go for appeal.”
“They have drawn a great Judge, for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta, who now seems to have disappeared from the Planet,” Trump wrote. “The Judge’s name is Tim Kelly, and he was, sadly, appointed by ‘TRUMP.’”
