6 citizens sue Trump, saying media ban deprives them of news as audience stakeholders

ABC News · The Independent and The Independent report that six ordinary Americans have taken President Donald Trump to federal court in New York, contending that his administration's practice of cutting off disfavored journalists from White House access harms readers and viewers, not only the newsrooms involved. It is the first such challenge brought by members of the public, rather than by media companies.

The Knight First Amendment Institute and the Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School represent the plaintiffs, who include a historian, a civics teacher, a student editor and a former Human Rights Watch director, Kenneth Roth. Besides Trump, the defendants are Susie Wiles, Steven Cheung and Sean M. Curran. The plaintiffs want the policy declared unconstitutional and want a sweeping order shielding every outlet covering the White House from retaliation. Katie Fallow of the Knight Institute said the public ends up with "something closer to government propaganda."

The lawsuit arrives amid other fights. CNN, MS NOW and Politico are suing over their journalists' expulsion in September, and a judge recently extended an order blocking enforcement of that ban.

Summarized by PolitiKool from ABC News · The Independent and The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at ABC News · The Independent → Also at The Independent →