By Paul Joseph
CNN, Politico and MS NOW have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the three media organisations were barred from accessing the White House.
The organisations took legal action on Monday, arguing that the administration’s decision to revoke access to their journalists was unconstitutional and threatened press freedom.
The lawsuit was filed at the US District Court in Washington, with the media outlets asking the court to stop the White House from enforcing the ban.
The organisations said the decision followed the administration’s objection to their reporting, stressing that government officials should not determine what the press can or cannot report.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the organisations said in a joint statement.
They argued that allowing the decision to stand could undermine independent journalism and the public’s ability to receive information about government activities.
US President Donald Trump announced the ban on Friday, accusing the affected organisations of publishing what he described as “fiction or lies” about his administration.
Trump later defended the move on Truth Social, saying the White House was targeting what he called “FAKE NEWS” rather than attacking the free press.
The dispute has also triggered a wider response from major American television networks.
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC jointly stated that the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate and independent information about the government, adding that media organisations should not be restricted because of their reporting.
The networks subsequently suspended their participation in the White House television press pool, which normally allows participating broadcasters to share coverage of presidential events.
CNN had been scheduled to provide pool coverage of Trump’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. However, its White House broadcasting booth was closed after the administration prevented the network from carrying out its pool duties.
The development left a normally occupied media position vacant, while Real America’s Voice was listed as a secondary crew for Trump’s New York trip.
The latest confrontation follows earlier tensions between the Trump administration and the Associated Press.
In February, the White House restricted AP journalists’ access to locations such as the Oval Office and Air Force One after the news agency continued using the term “Gulf of Mexico” rather than “Gulf of America”, a terminology change promoted by Trump.
The AP subsequently sued the administration, with the case still ongoing.
The White House has also taken steps to assume greater control over the press pool that provides access to the president, ending a system that had traditionally been managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association.
Trump has repeatedly criticised major news organisations, while his administration has pursued legal action against several media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.
The CNN, Politico and MS NOW lawsuit now places the administration’s latest restrictions on White House media access before the US courts, with the dispute centred on press access and constitutional protections for the media.
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