CNN and MS NOW journalists are now back at the White House, hours after federal judge orders Trump to lift ban

NEW YORK (AP) — Reporters from three news outlets banned from the White House by President Donald Trump were back on the grounds Thursday afternoon, hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to reinstate their access.On a chaotic day at the White House gates and in court, CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists were allowed back in by midday, after earlier issues gaining access.It was the latest development in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes. And it played out during a heavy news cycle with Chinese leader Xi Jinping visiting with Trump and world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly.On Thursday morning, a Secret Service agent had confiscated the journalists’ credentials, the news outlets said in a court filing asking for an immediate hearing to address what seemed to be the White House ignoring the court’s order. The administration said in its own filing shortly after the reporters were allowed back in that it took the White House time to begin the process of reinstating badges.Trump first announced he was banning the outlets Friday, assailing what he called “fake news.” He later said their reporting was a risk to national security.

The outlets argued in a joint lawsuit that the ban was a blatant violation of the First Amendment because it singled them out for the content of their coverage.In his late-night ruling to temporarily strike down the ban, Kelly said the news outlets had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order, in effect for 14 days. Kelly said they were likely to succeed in showing their access had been revoked without due process.“This is a high bar, but Plaintiffs have met it,” he wrote.Kelly — whom Trump nominated in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018 — said the government must have clear standards for conduct that would lead to revoking a press pass. He called the standard of objectionable reporting outlined in letters that the White House sent the outlets “so vague it hardly does the trick.”The judge also made clear he did not buy the administration’s argument that the news outlets’ reporting endangered national security — and noted that Trump himself had not used that argument in the beginning, focusing solely on what he called negative coverage.“Nothing in the record ...

It comes during a heavy news cycle with Chinese leader Xi Jinping visiting with Trump and world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly.Also Thursday, the news outlets had asked in a court filing for an immediate hearing to address their inability to access the White House grounds earlier in the day. The filing said a Secret Service agent had confiscated the journalists' credentials.Trump first announced he was banning the outlets Friday, assailing what he called “fake news,” and only later arguing that their reporting was a risk to national security. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the three outlets’ access.

He said they had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order, in effect for 14 days, and were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process.“This is a high bar, but Plaintiffs have met it,” he wrote.Kelly — whom Trump nominated in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018 — said the government must have clear standards for conduct that would lead to revoking a press pass. suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns,” he wrote.The ruling came after Kelly heard arguments in an … Hours after a federal judge ordered President Donald Trump to lift a ban on three news outlets from White House grounds, reporters from two of the outlets had been let in.

NEW YORK (AP) — Hours after a federal judge ordered President Donald Trump to lift a ban on three news outlets from White House grounds, reporters from two of the outlets had been let in.Early Thursday afternoon, CNN and MS NOW journalists were now back at the White House, after being denied access in the morning.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEW YORK (AP) —A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban of three news outlets from the White House, ordering early Thursday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico must have their access restored. Reporters from all three outlets, however, said they remained blocked a few hours after the ruling.The news outlets asked in a court filing for an immediate hearing to address their continued ban from White House grounds.

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN and MS NOW journalists are now back at the White House, hours after federal judge orders Trump to lift ban.