CNN, MS NOW and Politico have announced plans to sue the Trump administration over a White House media ban that they say violates their First Amendment rights to report on the president.
The organisations said they had notified the US government that they would file a lawsuit on Monday, after journalists from each outlet were refused access to the White House on Saturday.
President Trump announced the ban on Friday, saying he was frustrated by what he described as negative coverage. On Monday, CNN was also removed from its role as the television networks’ White House pool representative.
In a joint statement, the three news organisations said: “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting.”
They added: “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
The action marks a significant escalation in Mr Trump’s disputes with the news media. His administration has brought more sympathetic outlets into the White House briefing room and sought to bar the Associated Press from the Oval Office, a move also being challenged in court.
However, the president had not previously excluded a news organisation from the entire White House grounds. Press freedom advocates and other media outlets have condemned the latest ban as unconstitutional.
In a post on Truth Social announcing the decision, Mr Trump wrote: “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES”. Speaking from the Oval Office later that day, he said: “There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories.”
Earlier legal challenges over journalists’ access have established that, once government officials open their doors to a press corps, they cannot remove individual outlets simply because they dislike the substance of their reporting.
During Mr Trump’s first term, the White House withdrew the credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta and Playboy correspondent Brian Karem. Both regained their access after separate court challenges, with judges in each case stressing that journalists must be given an opportunity to respond before their press passes are withdrawn.
