A United States judge has ordered the Donald Trump administration to restore White House access to three news organisations that were barred from the building last week, after ruling that the ban likely violated their constitutional due process rights.
The District of Columbia court issued a temporary restraining order requiring CNN, MS NOW and Politico to have their access reinstated for 14 days.
The three media organisations had taken legal action after their reporters’ White House passes were confiscated and they were denied access to the building.
The Trump administration defended the restrictions, accusing the outlets of publishing false information and posing a threat to national security. However, the court rejected those arguments.
Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that CNN, Politico and MS NOW were “likely to succeed” in demonstrating that the White House had failed to provide adequate due process before revoking their access.
He also questioned the administration’s national security justification, noting that President Donald Trump had not cited national security when he initially announced the ban.
The judge wrote, “The record lacks factual support for Defendants’ contention that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the Court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds.”
The administration had cited several reports by the three outlets, including stories concerning construction work at the White House and plans for a new ballroom.
But Kelly said that “in most cases” the reports criticised by the White House were produced by journalists who did not hold hard passes.
He added that, in the remaining cases, the administration had failed to establish that possession of a hard pass was integral to the reporting.
The judge also questioned declarations submitted by defence department officials in support of the ban, saying they had “no direct knowledge of how reporters operate in the White House, or about any of the facts at issue here”.
Ted Boutrous, the lawyer representing the media organisations, told CNN, “This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law.”
The ruling comes after major US television networks withdrew from White House pool duties on Monday in protest against the restrictions.
The pool system allows media organisations to share coverage of presidential events to reduce costs and space requirements.
Forty-nine media organisations, including CBS News, The New York Times and Fox News, also filed a legal brief backing the lawsuit brought by CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
The White House has yet to comment on the ruling, while lawyers representing the president could seek further legal action.
