How the government argument for Trump’s media ban threatens the entire free press

The Justice Department is advancing a legal theory that could expose journalists to criminal charges, a step well beyond the White House's attempt to bar MS NOW, CNN and Politico from its premises. Government lawyers say the three outlets were shut out because they published sensitive or classified information, even though President Donald Trump first tied the ban to coverage he disliked. Federal law forbids publishing such material, the DOJ contends, so the outlets were on notice of possible penalties, and it points to the Espionage Act.

Judge Timothy J. Kelly blocked the ban in a Sept. 24 ruling. He said he doubted national security was the real motive, noted that no precedent supports applying the law to reporters, and observed that nothing showed the outlets had broken it. He also felt bound by roughly half a century of case law requiring due process before press credentials can be pulled. The parties are due back in court Thursday, and Trump has said he will appeal adverse rulings.

MS NOW reports that this would be the first time the government has aimed such an argument at mainstream outlets rather than Julian Assange.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →