A judge on Thursday, September 24, ordered the White House to “immediately” reopen its access to three media outlets chased out by Donald Trump, considering this ban without notice potentially contrary to the Constitution of the United States.
According to federal judge Timothy Kelly, the brutal removal at the end of last week of the accreditations of the CNN and MS NOW channels and the online media Politico “probably violated their constitutional rights” guaranteeing freedom of the press.
“The ‘general rule’ is that ‘individuals must be given prior notice and an opportunity to be heard’ before the government deprives them of a constitutionally protected interest,” the magistrate wrote in his order.
He ruled on this basis that the American executive must “immediately reinstate and return the accreditation badges” of their correspondents “until further notice or expiration of this order”, issued for two weeks.
In a press release sent to AFP, the lawyer for the three media, Theodore Boutrous, welcomed a “major decision which reaffirms freedom of the press, the right to due process and the rule of law”. When asked, the Ministry of Justice did not react immediately.
Donald Trump created a surprise by announcing on September 18 to block “with immediate effect” access to the White House for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, accusing them of relaying “false information”.
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In return, the latter took legal action denouncing a “direct attack on the First Amendment” of the American Constitution guaranteeing freedom of the press.
“Nothing in the file indicates that the revocation of the badges was motivated by national security concerns,” states Judge Kelly in his order, brushing aside an argument from the government.
“Lack of veracity”, “negative coverage”
“This is certainly not what President Trump said when he announced that he was ‘banning’ the plaintiffs. (…) He focused instead on their alleged lack of truthfulness and their coverage deemed negative,” said the magistrate.
During a hearing lasting less than an hour on Wednesday, government representative Michael Velchik urged Judge Kelly not to rule before Friday evening, the deadline set for banned media outlets to challenge their exclusion in letters sent by the White House press office.
In these letters, CNN, MS NOW and Politico are particularly criticized for their information in recent months on the shortage of ammunition for the American armed forces due to the war against Iran, contested by Donald Trump but which a Pentagon report confirmed in mid-September.
CNN is also accused of having “revealed top secret details” of the project to build a bunker under the ballroom under construction in the East Wing of the White House.
The ousting of CNN led the four other members of the White House television “pool” – CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox – to decide to cease their participation in this crucial system, in an unprecedented demonstration of solidarity.
On Wednesday, on the third day of the blocking of this video stream distributed to televisions, neither Fox News, CNN or MS NOW broadcast live the images of Donald Trump’s reception of Chinese President Xi Jinping near Washington.
Intention to appeal
During his first term, Donald Trump deprived a CNN journalist of accreditation after a tense exchange. Under pressure from a legal decision, the White House returned his badge after twelve days.
Donald Trump has suggested in recent days that he expected a new decision favorable to the media, already indicating on his Truth Social network that he would “appeal”.
“Temporary orders are generally not subject to appeal,” Judge Kelly wrote in his decision.
The magistrate has so far only ruled on the request for restitution of the badges, not on the merits.
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Cover image: © France 24
In an argument filed into the record, the Justice Department asserts the right for the President of the United States to bar media access to certain areas of the White House, at his sole discretion.
“Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right,” the ministry states in this document.
The Trump administration is using the same arguments as against the Associated Press news agency, a pillar of American journalism, removed from the Oval Office in 2025 for refusing to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”.
The White House Correspondents Association, as well as around fifty media outlets, supported the action of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
With AFP and Reuters
