CNN, MS NOW Turned Away From Xi Jinping Dinner Hours After a Judge's Order

CNN and MS NOW journalists were denied entry to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's state dinner arrival Thursday, hours after their White House credentials were restored under a court order, the Associated Press reported. CNN said in a blog post that the White House would admit only a photojournalist and an audio technician and refused a reporter and a producer, while reporters and producers from other networks were allowed in, the AP reported.

MS NOW reported that journalist Laura Barrón-López, whose credentials were among those reinstated under the order, was also turned away from the arrival ceremony on the portico, the AP reported.

Why it matters

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly had to order the administration twice in one day before the three outlets' reporters got back inside. The evening exclusions show the limits of his order: it did not address CNN's removal from the television pool, and the other four networks were still refusing to shoot video of Xi's visit, the AP reported. The White House did not respond to the AP's request for comment.

Kelly's second order and the badge timeline

Kelly issued a second order directing the administration to restore access after the outlets, barred again Thursday morning, asked for an emergency follow-up hearing, France 24 reported. The reporters were admitted Thursday afternoon, France 24 reported.

Theodore Boutrous, the outlets' attorney, wrote to Kelly that "Time is of the essence" and argued the administration had "already repeatedly violated the Court's Order," The Hill reported. He noted CNN was scheduled to be the television pool for Xi's visit that evening, The Hill reported.

Kelly gave the administration until 12:30 p.m. ET to respond, NPR reported. Micah Stopperich, the White House director of press operations, said in a declaration that her team began restoring access after being notified at 7:10 a.m. and finished in just under three hours, NPR reported.

Donald Trump's post and the network pool

No major American network aired live coverage of Xi's visit, and Fox News, CBS and NBC journalists at Joint Base Andrews were present but not shooting video, the AP reported. The networks also declined to take part in the pool for the state dinner, the AP reported.

Trump wrote in an online post that the networks "refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years." Earlier in the week, he wrote on social media that "as usual, we'll go for appeal," and it was unclear Thursday whether the administration planned one, The Hill reported.

What Kelly's ruling found

Kelly's 14-day temporary restraining order found the outlets "likely to succeed in showing that their hard passes were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process," NPR reported. He wrote the government offered no evidence of how the cited reporting damaged national security and that the reporters who wrote those stories "did not even hold hard passes," NPR reported.

Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik had argued that "Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right," the AP reported. Kelly said he "intends to rule expeditiously" on the preliminary injunction request, the AP reported.

Update: This story was updated to report that CNN and MS NOW journalists were denied entry to Xi Jinping's state dinner arrival Thursday evening, to add the White House's badge-restoration timeline and Trump's post on the networks.