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CNN, MS NOW and Politico said Monday they were suing the Trump administration over their removal from the White House, arguing that the restrictions violate their First Amendment rights, CNN reported.
The three outlets said they notified the government Monday that they were filing the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and seeking emergency relief, which could lead to hearings as soon as this week.
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the organizations said in a joint statement.
They said the White House had revoked journalists’ credentials “without notice or process” because it objected to their reporting.
President Donald Trump announced Friday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, criticizing what he described as negative and false coverage and suggesting other outlets could also be added.
“If they want to write them, that’s fine. I don’t have to let them into the people’s house,” Trump said.
Following the announcement, reporters from the three organizations had their White House press credentials deactivated.
On Saturday, MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner, CNN reporter Betsy Klein and Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett attempted to enter the White House grounds but were denied access by the Secret Service, which took their press passes, CNN reported.
CNN and MS NOW are also unable to use their television equipment and camera positions on White House grounds.
CNN was removed Monday from pooled coverage responsibilities shared among major news organizations. The network had been scheduled for television pool duty and to travel with Trump to New York.
The lawsuit is expected to focus on whether the administration engaged in viewpoint discrimination by restricting access because of coverage Trump described as negative.
The outlets also argue that journalists were denied due process before their credentials were revoked.
Federal court precedent dating to 1977 has held that White House press access cannot be denied based on the content of a journalist’s reporting or in a way that discriminates against protected speech.
That case involved reporter Robert Sherrill of The Nation, whose White House press pass was restored after being revoked by the Secret Service.
Similar disputes during Trump’s two presidential terms involved former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta, Playboy correspondent Brian Karem and The Associated Press. Courts largely sided with journalists in those cases, while not establishing unlimited access to White House press credentials.
Ted Boutrous, who represented CNN during the Acosta case in 2018, has joined the legal team representing CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
The three outlets said the restrictions could affect press freedom beyond their own organizations.
“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference,” they said.
CNN said its reporting on the U.S. government would continue regardless of restrictions on physical access to the White House or other government buildings.
At least one Trump administration official has argued that a 1965 U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving government restrictions on passports for travel to Cuba could support the administration’s position.
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