White House accused of defying court order as three US outlets seek emergency hearing
Three American news organisations have asked a federal court for an emergency hearing, accusing the White House of repeatedly refusing to comply with a judge's order restoring their access to presidential press events.
On Thursday morning, journalists from CNN, Politico and MS Now said they were turned away at the White House gates. Some reported that their press credentials were confiscated, while colleagues from the same organisations were allowed in.
The order was issued in the early hours of Thursday by Judge Timothy Kelly, who ruled that President Donald Trump's ban on the three outlets should be lifted temporarily because it "likely violated their constitutional due process rights".
It was not immediately clear whether Thursday's refusals amounted to defiance of the court or were the result of an administrative lag as the White House worked to comply. The White House has not commented on the ruling, and lawyers acting for the President may pursue further legal action.
CNN said several of its journalists, including senior White House reporter Betsy Klein, were denied entry, though one producer was admitted. Politico said one of its reporters was refused access and had his press credentials confiscated. MS Now said its White House reporter Laura Barrón-López and a producer were barred and had their passes taken, while another of its producers was allowed in.
The stand-off came as President Trump was due to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House, with a state dinner planned for the morning visit. The dispute was expected to affect television coverage of the occasion.
Trump announced on Friday that he was barring the three outlets from the White House, accusing them of writing "fiction or lies" about his administration. The White House later cited national security grounds. By Saturday morning, all three outlets had reported being denied entry to the White House grounds and having their press badges confiscated.
All three have rejected the ban, saying it violates their constitutional rights. In a joint statement on Monday, they said they were pursuing legal action to "defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports".
Most major American media organisations have backed them. Television networks including Fox News, NBC, CBS and ABC suspended their televised White House coverage in solidarity. More than 50 news organisations across the ideological spectrum — among them Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal — filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit.
Disputes over which reporters may attend presidential events are not new. In 2009, the Obama administration attempted to exclude Fox News from a pool interview with an administration official. After the other four networks in the pool objected, Fox News was allowed to take part.
Access to the White House press pool has traditionally been governed by arrangements that successive administrations have followed, and courts have generally held that once a government extends access to journalists, it cannot withdraw that access arbitrarily without due process.
