News outlets ask US court to block Trump White House ban beyond 14-day order

Major news groups ask court to block Trump's White House media ban and restore press credentials

Major news organisations asked on Tuesday a federal court to block US President Donald Trump’s White House media ban beyond an initial 14-day order, demanding full restoration of press credentials while litigation proceeds.

“This Court should issue a preliminary injunction enjoining Defendants… from taking any action to enforce the White House ban,” CNN, MS NOW and Politico said in a joint legal memorandum filed Monday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The outlets requested an order requiring administration officials to give their journalists the “same access” to the White House and the president that they had before Sept. 18.

The filing argued that the exclusion constitutes unlawful First Amendment retaliation over critical reporting and violates the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause by revoking hard passes without advance notice, hearings or objective criteria.

Read More: White House defies court order on media access

Attorneys also alleged that administration officials delayed compliance with earlier court directives and continued to impose inconsistent restrictions, including barring CNN from an Air Force One flight to Knoxville and limiting coverage of a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The motion follows a 14-day temporary restraining order issued September 24 by US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who found that the outlets were likely to succeed on their due process claim. The court also questioned the administration’s national security justification for the restrictions.

Trump announced the ban on Sept. 18, accusing the news organisations of spreading “fake news” and citing years of negative coverage.

The plaintiffs warned that the administration intends to reinstate the ban when the restraining order expires October 8, urging the court to intervene to prevent “irreparable harm” to press freedom.