TV Networks Stay Dark on Donald Trump's Xi Jinping Welcome After CNN's Return

Fox News, NBC, CBS and ABC have yet to confirm they will resume televised coverage of President Donald Trump, even though CNN, Politico and MS NOW were back inside the White House on Thursday under a federal judge's order, BBC reported. The four networks pulled out in solidarity with the banned outlets.

The networks were refusing to air footage of Trump without assurances that CNN would be allowed back into the White House pool, the Associated Press and Reuters reported. Fox News, CBS and NBC crews were present at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where Trump formally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping, but were not shooting video.

Why it matters

Judge Timothy Kelly's order restored three outlets' press passes but did not address the rotating network pool, the wire services reported. That leaves the White House hosting a Chinese head of state while the major U.S. television networks keep their cameras off.

Key points

• CNN, Politico and MS NOW regained White House access Thursday, hours after Judge Timothy Kelly ruled the ban likely violated their due process rights.
• The outlets sought an emergency hearing after their reporters were turned away Thursday morning, accusing the White House of having "repeatedly violated" the order.
• The networks that quit the pool have not said when they will return, and the court order did not cover the pool.

Judge Timothy Kelly's order and the morning lockout

Kelly ruled overnight that the White House must "immediately return, reinstate, and restore" the outlets' access, the wire services reported. He found they met the standard for a temporary restraining order, which lasts 14 days, and were likely to show their passes were revoked without due process.

"This is a high bar, but Plaintiffs have met it," Kelly wrote.

All three outlets reported their journalists were still denied entry Thursday morning, BBC reported. The director of White House Operations then said in a court filing that press passes and confiscated badges had been restored by 9:45 a.m.

The White House said reinstatement began shortly after 9 a.m. EDT, a timeline CNN has disputed, according to BBC.

Donald Trump's national security argument

Trump announced the ban last Friday, saying the outlets "shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States," the wire services reported. The White House later argued their reporting endangered national security.

Kelly wrote that nothing in the record suggested the passes were pulled over national security, and noted Trump had not made that argument at the outset. He called the standard for objectionable reporting in the White House's letters to the outlets "so vague it hardly does the trick."

Xi Jinping visit and the White House press pool

The five-network pool, which includes CNN, suspended coverage of Trump pool events pending further notice, the wire services reported. BBC reported the standoff limited some television coverage as Trump welcomed Xi to the White House ahead of a state dinner.

Signs on camera tripods identified five other outlets with crews at the scene: NewsNation, Newsmax, One America News Network, Right Side Broadcasting Network and LindellTV, the wire services reported.

Kelly, whom Trump nominated in 2017, ordered a CNN journalist's access restored in a similar case in 2018, the wire services reported. BBC noted an earlier precedent: the Obama administration tried in 2009 to exclude Fox News from a press pool interview with an official, but let the network in after the other four pool networks objected.