Major television news organizations have agreed to suspend their pooled coverage of President Donald Trump's events.
FOX News Media, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC News announced the decision Monday, stating that no administration should restrict news organizations based on their reporting.
"The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting," the pool members said in a joint statement.
Monday had been CNN's turn to serve as the White House pool representative, a rotating duty where one outlet covers the president and shares footage with others. The suspension means these outlets will not collectively broadcast or photograph Trump's public events.
The decision followed the White House's announcement that it was barring CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from covering the president, citing allegations of publishing "fake news."
In response to the attempted ban, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico announced they planned to file a lawsuit to protect their First Amendment rights. "Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting," the three outlets stated. "Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference."
President Trump took to social media to assert that his actions were not an attack on the free press but rather on "FAKE NEWS." He described such reporting as "corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control," calling it a threat to national security.
Past attempts by the Trump administration to exclude news outlets from coverage have previously been blocked by federal judges.