CNN, MS NOW, Politico Sue Trump
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative file photo. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Jan. 20, 2026. CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit Sept. 21 after the White House revoked their access, while major television networks suspended shared presidential pool coverage. (Official White House photo by Daniel Torok)
CNN, MS NOW and Politico have sued President Donald Trump and members of his administration after their journalists were barred from the White House, escalating a dispute over presidential press access into a federal First Amendment case.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Washington.
The three news organizations are asking a judge to immediately restore their access while the case proceeds. They argue that the White House punished them because of the content of their reporting and violated both their First Amendment rights and their right to due process under the Fifth Amendment.
The dispute began Friday when Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would no longer be allowed access to the White House.
The restriction became real the following morning.
Reporters from all three organizations arrived at the White House on Saturday and were turned away. Their press credentials had been deactivated.
Trump has defended the decision by accusing the three organizations of publishing false reporting.
He has also described what he considers false news coverage as a national security threat.
The White House issued a statement Monday arguing that access to the White House is a privilege rather than a constitutional right. The administration said the First Amendment protects the outlets’ ability to publish but does not guarantee them a White House credential, briefing room seat or position in the presidential press pool.
The three outlets make a different argument.
Their lawsuit says the government cannot open White House press access to journalists and then remove specific organizations because officials dislike their coverage.
The suit also argues that their credentials were taken away without notice or an opportunity to challenge the decision.
The fight quickly affected far more than the three banned organizations.
CNN is one of five television networks that operate the primary White House television pool alongside ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
The networks rotate responsibility for providing video coverage of the president, then distribute that footage to news organizations around the country.
CNN was scheduled to handle pool coverage Monday for Trump’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Because CNN was barred, it could not provide the scheduled feed.
The television networks responded by suspending pooled coverage of presidential events.
Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who currently chairs the television pool, informed the White House press corps that there would be no replacement pool.
That means the five networks are not currently providing the normal shared video feed for events designated as presidential pool coverage. Their individual news operations have not stopped reporting on Trump or the administration.
The interruption was immediately visible Monday.
Trump held an event at the White House before traveling to New York, but the usual television pool was not there to provide shared video coverage.
Other forms of White House reporting continued.
The legal fight is now moving quickly.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly.
Kelly has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, Sept. 23, on the outlets’ request for a temporary restraining order that would restore their access while the lawsuit continues.
Kelly previously handled a similar dispute during Trump’s first administration.
In 2018, he granted CNN temporary relief after the White House revoked correspondent Jim Acosta’s credential. The White House subsequently restored Acosta’s access.
The current case presents a broader dispute because the White House has excluded three entire news organizations rather than one reporter.
The administration maintains that the outlets remain free to report on the president and can do so from outside White House grounds.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico argue that denying access because of unfavorable reporting amounts to unconstitutional retaliation and would allow an administration to decide which news organizations receive access based on whether officials approve of their coverage.
For now, both questions remain unresolved.
A federal court must decide whether the White House can continue excluding the three outlets while the case proceeds.
At the same time, the country’s major television networks have suspended the normal system they use to jointly record and distribute video of presidential events.
The first major court test comes Wednesday.
(Source: OAF Nation)
