CNN, MS NOW and Politico have announced plans to sue the Trump administration over their exclusion from the White House, arguing that the ban violates the First Amendment.
The organisations said they were denied entry on Saturday and had their press passes revoked. Their legal action seeks the immediate restoration of access, with a Washington judge being asked to intervene swiftly.
The dispute follows a decision announced by Donald Trump on Friday to bar the three outlets from the White House. He said the organisations had published what he described as “fake stories” and lacked credibility.
“I don’t think somebody should be allowed to come and write fake stories,” Mr Trump told reporters. “Now, if they want to write them, that’s fine, but I don’t have to let them into my — into the people’s house.”
The news organisations said the move represented an unconstitutional attack on press freedom.
“There could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment,” their legal motion said, adding that presidents had long disagreed with and complained about coverage of their administrations.
CNN is scheduled to travel with the president on Monday as part of the network pool team, making the access dispute an immediate practical issue for the broadcaster.
Bruce Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, called the ban “flatly unconstitutional”. He described the decision as “textbook viewpoint discrimination” and said it would be quickly overturned if challenged in court.
White House access disputes
The Trump administration has previously restricted media access at the White House and elsewhere. The Associated Press was barred from some White House events after refusing to adopt Mr Trump’s proclamation that the Gulf of Mexico had been renamed the “Gulf of America”.
The AP brought its own First Amendment challenge. A federal judge in Washington initially ordered the White House to restore the organisation’s access, but an appeals court later allowed the restriction to take effect.
That ruling distinguished between limited areas, such as the Oval Office and Air Force One, and locations generally open to the press. The court said journalists could not be excluded from the latter based on their viewpoint.
During the ensuing legal process, the White House took control of the press pool, a rotating group of journalists covering the president each day and sharing information and footage with other outlets.
Access to the Pentagon has also been restricted. After most major news organisations declined to sign new rules that included provisions concerning the solicitation of sensitive information, they left the building. Following a court ruling against some of the measures, the Defence Department required reporters on Pentagon grounds to be escorted by government personnel, a policy an appeals court allowed to remain in place.
In the first Trump administration, CNN sued after the White House attempted to revoke reporter Jim Acosta’s access. A federal judge ordered his press pass restored, finding that his Fifth Amendment due process rights had been violated.
