CNN, MS NOW and Politico are taking the Trump administration to court after their journalists lost access to the White House, turning a dispute over media coverage into a legal fight over press rights.
The three organizations announced Monday that they were filing a lawsuit challenging the restrictions. The action follows a weekend in which their White House teams could no longer enter the complex using credentials that previously allowed them inside.
President Donald Trump announced the restrictions Friday. He accused the organizations of repeatedly publishing false information about him and his administration. When discussing the decision later, Trump did not point to one report that caused it. He described it instead as a response to coverage that had built up over the past several years.
He also indicated that the policy might eventually reach beyond the first three organizations. No additional outlets were identified at the time.
The effects became clear the next morning. Journalists working for each of the three organizations went to the White House but could not get in. Some of their credentials were taken, while others had been disabled.
One MS NOW journalist described trying her badge and finding that it no longer worked. She said the officer she spoke with could not provide an explanation beyond indicating that the decision had been made at a higher level. Access within the organization was not completely consistent either. A photographer was kept out while a producer was permitted to enter.
The restrictions changed where some of the day’s reporting happened. Television crews that ordinarily worked from the White House instead set up across the street and continued broadcasting from there.
The administration stood behind the decision. A senior White House official said the president was responding to reporting that he believed had misrepresented him and his administration. At the same time, another official acknowledged that some people working for Trump had not known the restrictions were coming before they were announced.
News organizations outside the dispute also objected.
The group representing journalists who regularly cover the White House called for access to be returned, arguing that disagreements over news coverage should not determine whether reporters can enter. The New York Times and The Associated Press were among other organizations that expressed support for the affected outlets.
Former President Barack Obama also discussed the situation during a speaking appearance Friday. He questioned what the reaction would have been if his administration had removed a major news organization from the White House because of its coverage.
The dispute now shifts partly away from the security gates and into federal court.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico say the administration cannot use access to government facilities as a way of responding to journalism it dislikes. The administration has defended the restrictions as a response to coverage Trump considers false.
The lawsuit asks a federal court in Washington to intervene. An emergency request could bring attorneys for the news organizations and the administration before a judge this week, while the three outlets continue covering the White House without the access their journalists previously had.
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