WASHINGTON:
CNN, MS NOW and Politico requested an urgent court hearing on Thursday after their reporters were barred from the White House despite a judge’s order that their access be restored.
“This morning journalists from each of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico attempted to enter the White House and were turned away,” the news outlets said in a court filing. “Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court set a hearing by videoconference or teleconference as soon as possible,” they said.
District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled overnight that the three news organisations banned by President Donald Trump last week should have their access to the White House immediately restored.
On last Friday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico were barred from the White House for distributing what the president branded “fake news” and “fiction and lies”.
They filed a joint lawsuit asking for a temporary restraining order against the ban on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which upholds the right to a free press. The Department of Justice had argued that “access to the White House is a privilegenot a right.”
However, Judge Kelly, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, appeared unconvinced.
“The Court is skeptical at least on this recordthat Defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes,” the judge said.
In their fresh request to Kelly to hold an emergency hearing, the media outlets said the “defendants have already repeatedly violated the Court’s order,” adding: “Time is of the essence. CNN is scheduled to be the television pool this evening for (Chinese) President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House.”
