News outlets demand permanent court order to end White House press ban

Three major news organizations are asking a federal court to lock in a victory that restores their access to President Donald Trump. CNN, MSNOW, and Politico filed an amended complaint on Wednesday, arguing that the White House continues to ignore existing court orders. The outlets claim the administration is still blocking their reporters from covering the president in the Oval Office and on Air Force One. This ongoing exclusion, they say, violates their First Amendment free speech rights by keeping them out of the rotating press pool.

The legal dispute centers on whether the president can punish news outlets for the content of their reporting. The three organizations assert that the ban constitutes viewpoint discrimination. This practice is forbidden under the First Amendment. Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., the attorney representing the outlets, stated that the White House is still preventing their journalists from covering Trump in the locations where the president most frequently interacts with the press.

Judge Timothy Kelly previously ruled in favor of the news organizations in two separate instances. On October 13, the judge expanded a temporary ruling that found the administration had violated the outlets' Fifth Amendment due process rights. He also sided with the argument that the ban breached their First Amendment free speech protections. Kelly rejected the White House argument that the ban was a policy measure to protect national security. Instead, he found the ban resulted from Trump's stated belief that the outlets' reporting was inaccurate and biased.

In his written opinion, Kelly described the action as unlawful viewpoint discrimination. He noted that the government is taking action against types of speech it does not like. Trump maintains that he does not have to allow news outlets with unfavorable coverage onto White House grounds or Air Force One. The White House had not responded to the amended lawsuit as of Thursday morning.

The filing comes roughly two weeks after Kelly determined the news outlets were likely to succeed in the case. The organizations warn that every news organization now faces the risk of similar punishment for coverage the president deems insufficiently favorable. They argue the public is being deprived of current and complete information about the government as a result.

The current filing asks the court to make the previous orders permanent. The legal team seeks to end what they describe as a retaliatory measure against specific outlets. The case pits the president directly against the news organizations that cover his administration.