A US federal judge has ordered the White House to immediately restore access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, after the outlets were barred from the premises.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed by the three media organisations over the removal of their White House press credentials.
Kelly said the outlets were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes had been revoked without the required constitutional due process.
The judge ordered the administration to “return, reinstate, and restore” the journalists’ credentials while the legal dispute continues.
The dispute began after President Donald Trump announced on September 18 that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, accusing the outlets of publishing what he described as false reporting.
The three organisations challenged the decision in court, arguing that the administration had unlawfully restricted their access because of their coverage.
The White House argued that access to the presidential residence is a privilege rather than a guaranteed right and defended the administration’s authority to determine which journalists receive access.
Judge Kelly, however, found that the outlets had met the legal threshold for temporary relief. He also noted that the national-security justification presented by the administration did not match the reasons Trump initially gave when announcing the ban.
The ruling initially led to confusion at the White House, as journalists from the three organisations said they were still being denied entry even after the judge’s order.
The White House later said it had begun restoring the affected press badges, and journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were allowed back onto the grounds by Thursday afternoon.
The case is expected to continue as the court considers whether a longer-term injunction should remain in place.
The dispute has also affected the White House press pool, with other television networks previously suspending pooled coverage in solidarity with CNN after its exclusion.
