CNN, MS NOW, and Politico have announced they will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the three news outlets were banned from the White House. President Donald Trump announced the ban in a Truth Social post, accusing the three organizations of writing “fiction and lies” about his administration. Following Trump’s announcement, the broadcasters stated that their reporters had been denied access to the White House and had their press badges deactivated. In a joint statement, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico said they are pursuing legal action to “defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports.” The lawsuit seeks the immediate overturning of Trump’s ban and a ruling that it violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment, which upholds the right to free speech. Reacting to the lawsuit, Trump wrote a Truth Social post calling the news organizations “third-rate clowns” and the “Crooked and Corrupt Press.” The top five US broadcasters have responded by halting White House “pool” coverage, in which one broadcaster films on behalf of all television outlets for the day. The five broadcasters, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC, issued a joint statement, saying: “No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting” Following the halt in press pool duties, the Trump administration launched Trump TV, a streaming channel showing moments from inside the White House.
President Donald Trump’s move to ban several news outlets from the White House over his dislike of their coverage likely runs afoul of U.S. legal prohibitions against viewpoint discrimination by the government, four legal experts told Reuters.
