Attorney for banned outlets on legal fight over White House press access

A federal judge has ordered the White House to give CNN, MS NOW and Politico full access again while their lawsuit proceeds, the second such order after President Trump barred the three outlets last month over how they covered his administration. The injunction stays in place until the judge issues a final decision or a higher court steps in. The ruling bears on how far a president may go in choosing which journalists enter government grounds, according to PBS NewsHour.

Ted Boutrous, the lawyer for the three outlets, told PBS NewsHour that the judge found two likely wins for his clients. First, they lost their hard passes with no warning and no published criteria, which he says violates due process. Second, the judge concluded the move was retaliation for protected speech, because Trump disliked their reporting.

Boutrous said that once the government lets journalists into a facility, any limits must be reasonable and neutral toward viewpoint. A White House statement saying "fake news has no place" in the Oval Office, he argued, bolsters that conclusion.

Summarized by PolitiKool from PBS NewsHour’s reporting. Read the full story at PBS NewsHour →