Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied access to the White House on Saturday, September 19, after President Donald Trump announced a ban on the three organisations over coverage he described as “fake news”.
The restrictions were enforced as journalists arrived for work, with press badges deactivated or confiscated at the White House gates.
MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner said her pass failed when she attempted to enter the complex and that an officer told her the decision had been made “above him”. A photographer accompanying her also had their credentials taken, she said.
CNN reporter Betsy Klein was likewise turned away after Secret Service officers told her that her badge had been deactivated. Politico later said its White House correspondent, Cheyenne Haslett, had also been refused entry and had her credentials confiscated.
White House press ban condemned
Trump announced the ban on Friday, accusing CNN, MS NOW and Politico of repeatedly reporting what he called “FICTION and LIES” about his administration. Speaking later in the Oval Office, he said other media organisations could face similar action.
The three outlets indicated that they would challenge the move and continue reporting on the president from outside the White House.
CNN described the decision as an illegal assault on its constitutional rights, while MS NOW said it would take every necessary step to defend press freedom. Politico editor-in-chief Jonathan Greenberger also said the organisation would defend its First Amendment rights.
Jacqui Heinrich, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, called for access to be restored immediately. She warned that a standard used to exclude one outlet because of its reporting could eventually be applied to any news organisation.
The Associated Press said it supported the three outlets, arguing that no news organisation or individual should face government retaliation over the language it uses.
The latest action comes after the Trump administration previously restricted Associated Press journalists from some presidential events following a dispute over the president’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico. The AP has challenged that decision in court.
