Judge stops exclusion of CNN, Politico and MS NOW for the time being

Washington – Defeat for Donald Trump (80) in his fierce fight against the US press! A federal judge in Washington has stopped the exclusion of Politico, CNN and MS NOW imposed by US President Donald Trump for the time being. The journalists of the three media outlets must immediately get their access authorizations for the White House back. The preliminary injunction is initially valid for 14 days while the legal dispute continues – the Trump administration is likely to appeal the decision.

The explosive thing: The judge who is now putting Trump in his place is Judge (57), of all people, and was nominated for the federal judgeship by Trump himself during Trump's first term in office.

Trump had announced last Friday on Truth Social that he would ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House with immediate effect. He cited their constant reporting on alleged "fake news" as the reason. Trump then told reporters: "I don't want them (the reporters, editor's note) in the White House. They shouldn't be here." He also explained that it was not about a single report, but about the reporting of recent years.

Last Saturday, things got serious: Reporters from the three media outlets, including Politico, were turned away at the entrance to the White House grounds. The Secret Service withdrew their press cards. On Monday, Politico, CNN and MS NOW went to court together. They argued that the exclusion violated their rights under the First Amendment and the right to due process, among other things.

Judge agrees with media for the time being

Kelly concludes in his eight-page decision: The plaintiffs will probably succeed with their arguments. They had not been granted sufficient due process. Before their press cards were revoked, they had neither been informed nor could they have appealed.

Particularly sensitive for Trump: Kelly was also "skeptical" about the government's justification that the exclusion was about national security. There is no evidence of this in the documents from the time before the lawsuit. Trump himself had rather attacked what he saw as untrue and negative media coverage when announcing the ban.

The U.S. Department of Justice, on the other hand, had argued that the media had published, among other things, sensitive or classified information and violated standards of "professionalism and decency." For the government, access to the White House was a "privilege," not a right. The three media outlets, on the other hand, saw it as an attack on press freedom. Their lawyers accused Trump of wanting to force reporting that was more favorable to him with the exclusion and at the same time to scare off other journalists.