Media coalition: White House press ban targeting CNN, MS NOW, Politico is ‘illegal and unconstitutional’

Reporters Committee, joined by 50 media outlets and industry groups, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, is urging a federal court to immediately restore White House access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, arguing that President Donald Trump’s decision to ban them for what he perceives as “negative” coverage violates the First Amendment.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Reporters Committee argues that the press ban threatens to deprive the public of timely, newsworthy information about the statements and actions of the president. The brief explains that the Constitution leaves the choice of how to report on the office of the presidency and other newsworthy public issues to the free press, “not to the whims of any administration.”

“Amid so many attacks from the Trump administration on journalists, this one has really struck a chord because the public can easily get its head around what has happened here,” said Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown. “The president has kicked news organizations out of the White House because he does not like the news they report. That is a brazen violation of the First Amendment that the courts should quickly reverse in order to protect the public interest.” 

Trump announced the ban on the three news outlets in a social media post published on Friday. The move prompted swift backlash from newsrooms and press freedom advocates, including Reporters Committee, which called it “flatly unconstitutional.” 

Over the weekend, journalists for the targeted news outlets were blocked from accessing the White House grounds. On Monday, in a show of solidarity, television networks declined to provide shared coverage of the president after CNN was removed from the White House press pool. Other newsrooms and wire services, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Associated Press, also rallied behind the banned news outlets, saying they would not publish photos from Trump’s events. 

On Monday, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico sued the Trump administration, calling the ban a “direct assault on the First Amendment.” The lawsuit asks the district court to quickly rule the ban unconstitutional and to block the White House from enforcing it.

The media coalition’s brief in support of the targeted newsrooms is the latest indication that the news industry is committed to fighting the ban as a unified front. Joined by a wide range of newsrooms and media organizations — from the White House Correspondents’ Association to national TV networks — the brief highlights how journalists who cover the White House have historically played an essential role in informing the public about the office of the presidency, including during consequential moments like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The brief argues that stripping journalists and news outlets of their rights because they reported the news in a way that that the president dislikes violates decades of Supreme Court precedent. It also argues that the ban threatens to discourage other news outlets from publishing stories that they fear might result in similar sanctions.

A hearing in the case has been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.