Judge Temporarily Reinstates White House Press Access for Three News Outlets

A federal judge has ordered the White House to immediately reinstate press access for three news organizations that were banned from the building last week. The District of Columbia court issued a temporary restraining order against the ban, meaning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico must have their access restored for 14 days.

The three outlets had launched a legal challenge, arguing the ban was unconstitutional after their reporters had their hard passes for the White House confiscated and were denied entry. The Trump administration sought to defend the move in court, accusing the outlets of publishing false information and threatening national security.

Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that the news organizations were "likely to succeed" in showing the White House had not exercised "adequate due process" in implementing the ban. He also cast doubt on the administration's arguments that the bans were motivated by national security concerns, pointing out that the president made no mention of such concerns in his initial announcement.

"The record lacks factual support for Defendants' contention that the revocation of Plaintiffs' hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the Court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds," the ruling stated.

The White House has not yet commented on the ruling. Lawyers for the president may choose to pursue further legal action.