CNN, MS NOW & Politico to Sue Donald Trump Over White House Ban

CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are suing Donald Trump and other administration officials after the president banned those three media outlets from the White House on Friday (September 18).

“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 three outlets said in a joint statement on Monday (September 21).

The statement continued, “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

Trump announced the ban on Truth Social on Friday, accusing the outlets of writing lies about him. He warned, “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”

“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” reads the lawsuit, which is set to be filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington.

“Presidents from the earliest days of the Republic have disagreed with and complained about the tenor and content of press coverage of their administrations,” the suit continues. “The Constitution protects the liberty and property interests that news organizations and White House reporters have in their press credentials and the access those credentials afford them to cover the White House for the benefit of the public.”

It adds, “No official can deprive Plaintiffs of those interests on a whim — with no notice, no process, and no warning — as the President did here.”

The suit alleges the ban violates the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment by barring three outlets “from a nonpublic forum for unlawful reasons.”

The outlets are seeking a temporary restraining order barring Trump and other defendants, including assistant for communications Steven Cheung, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, and Sean Curran, director of the U.S. Secret Service, from taking further action to enforce the ban.

Three White House reporters, Akayla Gardner of MS NOW, Betsy Klein of CNN, and Politico’s Cheyenne Haslett, are named as the plaintiffs. All three were denied entry to the White House on Saturday (September 19), and a Secret Service officer took their passes.

Trump spoke to reporters about the ban on Friday, noting that he expects his decision to be challenged in court. “I think it’s good to point it out, whether it survives or doesn’t,” he said of the ban.