Home · Politics · Sep 24 archive
DOJ Defends Trump's Media Ban in Court
Confirmed
In Short: The appeals court in 2025 allowed Trump to restrict AP journalists from limited presidential spaces, including the Oval Office, while litigation continued, but distinguished those restricted settings from press areas generally open to credentialed journalists.
The Justice Department on Tuesday urged a federal judge to uphold President Donald Trump's ban on CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from White House grounds, arguing that the president may restrict their access over national security concerns.
DOJ lawyers cited the need to protect sensitive information and enforce standards of professionalism and decorum, stating, 'Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right.
The letters from the White House dated September 22 provided a detailed explanation for the exclusions, accusing the organizations of publishing sensitive or classified information and spreading false reporting on national security issues.
Despite a temporary restraining order granted by District Judge Timothy Kelly, which required the administration to restore the outlets’ press credentials, White House reporters from these organizations were blocked from entering the White House grounds on Thursday.
The White House and Secret Service continued to revoke and seize press passes from journalists who still had them, defying the court order.
In 2018, Judge Kelly had previously ruled against the Trump administration in a White House press credential dispute, ordering the administration to restore CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass.
The appeals court in 2025 allowed Trump to restrict AP journalists from limited presidential spaces, including the Oval Office, while litigation continued, but distinguished those restricted settings from press areas generally open to credentialed journalists.
Lawyers for CNN, Politico, and MS NOW raced back to court seeking an emergency hearing after their reporters were blocked from accessing the White House just hours after the court order.
The White House is now facing a constitutional crisis and the future of the free press is at stake, as the administration continues to ignore the judge’s order.
Trump’s order keeps credentialed journalists from the three organizations off White House grounds altogether, while DOJ argues that the president’s authority over restricted areas supports the broader exclusion.
The administration’s actions raise questions about the balance between national security and press freedom, and the extent to which the White House can restrict access to journalists.
Judge Kelly’s order required officials to provide the factual basis for a denial, allow the journalist to respond, and issue a written decision, but the White House has yet to comply.
What this adds
The court’s ruling in 1977 established that the White House may control press access, but credentials made available to bona fide journalists cannot be denied arbitrarily.
The White House’s defiance of the court order highlights the ongoing tension between executive authority and judicial oversight in matters of press access.
Background
President Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from covering the White House, prompting the outlets to file a lawsuit on Monday.
What's confirmed
- Their White House hard passes were deactivated or confiscated.
What's still developing
- Circuit ruled in 1977 that the White House may control press access, but credentials made available to bona fide journalists cannot be denied arbitrarily.
- Last week, Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he was “immediately” banning the three outlets from the White House press pool because he did not like the manner in which they covered him — an apparent violation of the First Amendment, which the president has repeatedly claimed he will defend.
- “CNN is scheduled to be the television pool this evening for President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House.” Judge Kelly responded with a demand that the Trump administration respond to the outlet’s notice of non-compliance by 12:30 p.m.
- Instead of complying with the court order, this is what happened.
- Despite a 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Friday blocking its policy of third-country removals, the Trump administration was pressing ahead yesterday with additional removals, according to a news report and court filings.
- In the case of a Peruvian man it wants to deport to the Central African Republic, the Trump DOJ argued that the appeals court ruling wasn’t in effect yet, the American Prospect reported.
- The hacks in May and June involved : A state judge in Iowa threw out President Trump’s lawsuit against the Des Moines Register, its parent company, and longtime pollster Ann Selzer for having published a poll in the stretch run of the 2024 election that showed him losing badly in the state.
- The Trump DOJ reiterated that position in a phone call with lawyers who had brought the 1st Circuit case, and late last night they filed an emergency request for the appeals court to issue its mandate, which would remove any doubt — if there was any — about its ruling being in effect.
- In this very same case, when it was at the lower court in Boston in May 2025, the Trump administration engaged in repeated flagrant violations of court orders by continuing with third-country removals.
- Trump’s posts were cited by the DOJ in a legal filing responding to a joint lawsuit from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
- An Economist /YouGov poll published on Tuesday showed respondents the president’s initial Truth Social post announcing the White House ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.