Three news organizations are urging a federal court to make permanent a previous order that would grant them access to cover President Donald Trump. CNN, MSNOW, and Politico filed an amended complaint, stating the White House is continuing to defy judicial orders by barring their reporters from covering Trump in the Oval Office and on Air Force One.
The outlets allege this ongoing exclusion violates their First Amendment free speech rights, characterizing the ban as retaliation for unfavorable reporting. The news organizations' attorney, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., said in a statement that the White House continues to block reporters from areas where the president most frequently engages with the press, even after previous court rulings.
This latest filing seeks to solidify prior judicial decisions. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly had previously ruled that the administration likely violated the news outlets' due process rights and, in a subsequent ruling, their First Amendment right to free speech. Kelly rejected the administration's arguments that the ban was based on policy goals like national security, finding instead that it stemmed from Trump's stated belief that the outlets' reporting was inaccurate and biased.
"Simply put," Kelly wrote in his opinion, "That is unlawful viewpoint discrimination"—the government taking action against speech or coverage it dislikes. The outlets argue that if the White House can punish news organizations for their reporting, it poses a risk to all news organizations and deprives the public of comprehensive information about its government.
The White House had not responded to the amended lawsuit as of Thursday morning.