CNN and MS NOW journalists were denied access to the White House on Thursday evening despite a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to restore the outlets’ access to the presidential grounds.
The reporters were seeking to cover guests arriving for a state dinner hosted for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The development came hours after CNN, MS NOW and Politico had regained access following a court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s ban on the three outlets.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled overnight that the ban was likely unconstitutional and ordered the immediate restoration of the outlets’ press passes while halting enforcement of the restrictions for 14 days.
However, a CNN reporter and producer, along with an MS NOW reporter, said they were turned away from the White House ahead of the dinner.
CNN said the White House informed it about an hour before Xi was due to arrive that its team could cover the event only with a photojournalist and audio technician, excluding a reporter and producer.
MS NOW White House reporter Laura Barron-Lopez said White House staff told her she could not enter and directed her to contact the White House communications director.
A White House communications account on X defended the administration’s position, saying, “contrary to what the Fake News wants you to believe, they don’t just get to have free rein into every part of the White House, every event, and every press call”.
Earlier on Thursday, CNN, Politico and MS NOW had also reported being denied entry despite the judge’s ruling, prompting the outlets to seek an emergency court hearing.
The White House director of operations subsequently told the court that the press passes and confiscated badges had been restored by 09:45 local time.
The three outlets later confirmed that they had been allowed back into the White House.
However, Fox News, NBC, CBS and ABC, which had withdrawn from White House coverage in solidarity with the affected outlets, had not confirmed whether they would resume their coverage.
In his ruling, Kelly said the outlets were “likely to succeed” in establishing that the White House had failed to provide adequate due process in revoking their access.
He also rejected the administration’s national security justification, writing, “The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security”.
Trump had announced the ban on CNN, Politico and MS NOW the previous Friday, accusing the outlets of publishing “fiction or lies” about his administration.
The outlets subsequently accused the administration of violating their constitutional rights, while more than 50 media organisations, including Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, filed an amicus brief supporting their legal challenge.
