NewzJudge Timothy Kelly found the revocation of the three news agencies' press passes "likely violated their constitutional due process rights." Court rejects claims of national security concerns, orders news outlets' press passes be restored for 14 days The post Judge blocks Trump’s White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico appeared first on The Times of Israel. The Trump administration must immediately reinstate White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, a US federal judge ordered Thursday, after their reporters were banned from the premises.
President Donald Trump barred the outlets from the White House on Friday as punishment for distributing what he branded as “fake news” and “fiction and lies.” CNN, MS NOW and Politico 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. Judge Timothy Kelly found that the revocation of press passes “likely violated their constitutional due process rights,” according to the ruling. “The ‘general rule’ is that ‘individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them’ of a constitutionally protected interest,” Kelly wrote.
The billionaire former reality TV star has long attacked media outlets that have aired critical coverage of his campaigns and administrations, repeatedly blasting the press as the “enemy of the people.” The ban comes at a time when his approval ratings are at record lows, his Republican Party risks losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, and the US-Iran war drags on with no end in sight. The post US judge orders White House reinstate access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico appeared first on Vanguard News. Trump-nominated judge rules that outlets are likely to succeed in claim they were denied due process.
A federal judge ordered US President Donald Trump on Thursday to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying his ban on the three media outlets was likely unconstitutional. In a major setback for Trump in one of his biggest battles with the media, US District Judge Tim Kelly issued his order in a lawsuit that the news organisations filed contesting the ban that the Republican president announced on September 18. Kelly ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the outlets' press passes and blocked officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days.
The judge rejected the government's assertion that the ban was motivated by national security concerns. Read: Trump bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico from White House "The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds," he said, adding that Trump himself had stated the ban was due to "alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity" of the outlets' reporting. The White House and representatives for the outlets did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump had said on social media that the three outlets "shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES," and Justice Department lawyers had sought to justify the ban on national security grounds. The three outlets sued Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington on Monday, saying the ban violated the US Constitution's First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights. They requested a temporary restraining order that would immediately reinstate their White House access while their legal challenge plays out.
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