A large group of media companies and press organizations filed a court brief on Wednesday urging a judge to block President Trump’s ban of three media outlets from the White House grounds and pooled coverage.
They argued the president’s actions have a “chilling” impact on coverage of the Trump administration and is in violation of the First Amendment.
The Associated Press, the White House Correspondents’ Association, ABC News, Bloomberg, The Boston Globe, CBS, the Center for Investigative Reporting, Fox News and many other outlets jointly submitted an amicus brief in U.S. District Court ahead of a Wednesday afternoon hearing before Judge Timothy Kelly. The Washington Times is not part of the brief.
They argued that Mr. Trump’s move banning Politico, CNN and MS NOW from the White House grounds and pool coverage of the president “are transparently viewpoint discriminatory” and are aimed at impairing “the critical work of news organizations.”
The amicus brief marks a further escalation in Mr. Trump’s latest battle with the media, which began Friday when he announced the ban of the three outlets, claiming they produce “fake news” and overwhelmingly negative coverage of his administration.
The news outlets have joined together in refusing to provide camera and still photography pool coverage of Mr. Trump, even as he was slated to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews later Wednesday.
The three news outlets have asked Judge Kelly to impose a temporary restraining order to reinstate their credentials.
The media companies that filed the supporting court brief noted Mr. Trump has threatened to revoke the credentials of additional outlets.
Mr. Trump’s ban, they said, is designed to chill their coverage, “with the hope that it discourages other outlets from publishing stories they fear might provoke similar sanctions.”
The Justice Department responded in a court filing late Tuesday, arguing that members of the press have no constitutional right to the nonpublic areas of the White House and that their access can be restricted, even for viewpoint-discrimination reasons.
The White House sent letters Tuesday to the outlets notifying them that the hard passes that grant them access to White House grounds had been revoked for “behavior in violation of the standards of professionalism and decorum expected of those given access.”
The Justice Department told the court it set a Friday deadline with the three media outlets to negotiate a settlement.
The White House letter listed the offenses: “Trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues and publishing sensitive or classified information.”
The letter included a list of the offending media reports.
In one example, CNN “disclosed ’top-secret’ construction details” for the security bunker under construction beneath the White House ballroom.
In another example. MS NOW reported “an alleged leak investigation” that would be considered “nonpublic sensitive law enforcement information.”
Politico was cited for publishing funding for the White House ballroom that included how money would be spent bolstering security at the facility.
The White House argued publication of security information and “misinformation” about national security “diverts White House resources and those of the national security team in particular” who must evaluate the leak, its source and any repercussions from the disclosure.
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