Donald Trump's DOJ Asks Court to Scrap 1977 Precedent in CNN, MS NOW, Politico

The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to set aside a 1977 appeals court precedent that bars the White House from denying press access arbitrarily, as it defends President Donald Trump's decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds, Al Jazeera reported.

The request came in a late Tuesday filing urging the court to reject the outlets' bid to have their access restored, just hours before an emergency court session planned for Wednesday afternoon, NPR reported. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly heard arguments but did not rule, according to Al Jazeera.

Why it matters

The case tests how far a president can go in choosing which journalists cover the White House. If the court discards Sherrill v. Knight, the decades-old requirement of compelling reasons to deny press access would no longer bind the administration.

Key points

• The Justice Department says White House access is a privilege and that the three outlets failed to meet standards of professionalism and decorum.
• White House letters dated Sept. 22 accuse the outlets of publishing sensitive or classified information and spreading falsehoods about national security.
• Judge Timothy Kelly, who restored Jim Acosta's credentials in Trump's first term, held a hearing Wednesday without ruling.

Justice Department filing targets Sherrill v. Knight

The filing said Trump "concluded that they have failed to maintain basic minimum standards of professionalism and decorum," NPR reported. "After all, access to the White House is a privilege—not a right," the department argued.

The administration also asked the court to overturn Sherrill v. Knight, a 1977 ruling requiring the White House to show compelling reasons before denying a journalist access rather than doing so arbitrarily, according to Al Jazeera.

White House letters to CNN, MS NOW and Politico

The filing included White House letters accusing the outlets of "trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information," NPR reported. The letters were dated Sept. 22, four days after the outlets lost access, and set a Friday deadline for written complaints.

The letters cited CNN's publication of "top-secret" construction details of a bunker beneath the East Wing, MS NOW's coverage of the Iran war's effect on U.S. munitions and a Politico report on ballroom funding that included Secret Service security details, Al Jazeera reported. They also faulted Politico for relying on anonymous sources in describing the Republican midterm convention, held in Dallas, as a "disaster," according to NPR and Al Jazeera.

Judge Timothy Kelly, the lawsuit and earlier press disputes

The outlets sued Monday in Washington, arguing the ban violates their First Amendment rights and Fifth Amendment due process rights, according to NPR.

Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the restoration of CNN reporter Jim Acosta's credentials during Trump's first term, Al Jazeera reported. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the outlets "have drawn a great Judge, for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta."

Other news groups filed an amicus brief Wednesday urging immediate restoration of access, arguing that "the targeted expulsion of news media from White House grounds injures the public interest," Al Jazeera reported. Katie Fallow of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University called the proceedings historic, according to Al Jazeera.

The dispute follows Trump's decision to deny the Associated Press access to the Oval Office and Air Force One over its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, a case still in the courts, NPR reported.