On Thursday, journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to the White House after a federal court temporarily lifted the ban order overnight.
The reporters began reporting from the White House during the 12 p.m. ET hour, but it came after some drama earlier in the morning as CNN’s Betsy Klein and a photojournalist, MS NOW’s Laura Barrón-López and a producer, and one of Politico’s reporters were not allowed into the White House, with their passes confiscated.
A CNN and MS NOW producer was able to enter the grounds, but officials did not explain to the networks why some colleagues gained entry while others were barred.
Attorneys from the three outlets filed for an emergency hearing, accusing the White House of violating U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly’s ruling, which granted a temporary order requiring the Donald Trump administration to restore press access for the next two weeks as the case moves through the court.
The judge gave the administration until 12:30 p.m. ET to explain why it is continuing to deny journalists entry into the White House. In response, the White House director of operations said access had been restored to affected journalists.
CNN, MS NOW, and Politico jointly sued the Trump administration on Monday over the ban after the president indicated last Friday that the three news outlets would be barred from reporting from the White House.
Reporters from the three organizations said over the weekend that security denied them access to the White House grounds, with security telling the journalists the orders came from above.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump said he cherishes the free press but is “instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something has grown like a Cancer” within this country, and that it has gotten out of control.
All of this is happening as ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, and Fox News have temporarily stopped providing pool coverage of the president after the White House stripped CNN of its pool assignment. CNN was the designated network to cover the president on Monday, but the White House relieved it of its duties.
