CNN, Politico and MSNOW Sue Trump After White House Ban

In reality, four other major TV networks said they were suspending their shared coverage of presidential events in response to the president’s action. The New York Times and The Washington Post also said they would limit publication of photos taken from the president’s events today as part of a broader effort among journalists to boycott in support of the banned journalists. NPR plans to stop using audio from White House events, according to an internal memo viewed by The Times.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico argued in their lawsuit that Mr. Trump’s ban, which he imposed over what he sees as negative news media coverage, violates the First Amendment. The case was assigned to a federal judge who was nominated by Mr. Trump who previously sided with CNN when the White House attempted to expel one of its White House reporters in 2018.

“The Constitution does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting,” the media organizations said in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, defended his actions. “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” he wrote. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”

Mr. Trump announced on Friday that CNN, MSNOW and Politico were no longer permitted on the White House grounds. Reporters from the outlets were denied access to the White House on Saturday and CNN was removed from its duties as the White House pool representative for television networks on Monday.

The White House press pool is a small group of correspondents, TV journalists and photographers who are the eyes and ears of the broader White House press corps. The pool arrangement, which began during the Eisenhower administration, solves the practical problem of having hundreds of reporters crowding into the White House or following the president on every trip.

Four other networks that shared the responsibility for providing television coverage of presidential events with CNN — ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC — said on Monday that they would suspend those efforts, which entail distributing footage that is carried by news organizations worldwide. Individual networks and streamers can still shoot footage of presidential events, but smaller outlets do not have the same distribution as the major networks.

“No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” the five networks said in a statement.

The White House promoted a new 24/7 YouTube livestream that it branded as “Trump TV.” The first night of broadcasts included reruns of previous Trump rallies, and video of Trump’s second inauguration.

Here’s what to know:

• The outlets’ statement: CNN, MS NOW and Politico said in a joint statement that their reporters’ credentials had been revoked “without notice or process.” They added, “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

• The court case: The outlets have asked the court to restore their access to the White House as quickly as possible and sought an emergency order that would remain in effect while the litigation unfolds. The federal judge assigned to the case, Timothy J. Kelly, handled a similar fight in 2018: He ordered the White House to reinstate the press pass of the CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

• Pool duties: The five networks have long performed the television duties on a rotation, and CNN had been slated to provide coverage for Mr. Trump’s travel on Monday to the United Nations General Assembly. The president’s activities on Monday are still expected to be covered by print, radio and wire journalists, along with still photographers.

The three news organizations suing the Trump administration issued a joint statement on Monday.

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

The joint complaint, which was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said that the “Constitution does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting.”

The news outlets asked the court to restore their access to the White House as quickly as possible. They filed a separate motion seeking an emergency order that would remain in effect while the litigation unfolds.

“As a result of the ban, they have lost the ability to perform essential newsgathering at the seat of the executive branch, where critically important newsworthy events occur every day,” the complaint reads.

In a Monday post on Truth Social, the platform he owns, Mr. Trump wrote: “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”

The president’s ban represents a significant escalation in his battles with the news media, particularly in Washington. Mr. Trump has brought friendlier outlets into the White House briefing room and moved to bar one publication, The Associated Press, from the Oval Office, which is also being challenged in court. But he had not barred any outlets from the entire White House grounds.

Press freedom advocates and other media outlets have blasted the ban as unconstitutional. “No news organization — or person — should be retaliated against by the government over the words they use,” said Lauren Easton, chief communications officer for The A.P., in a Saturday statement.

In previous legal fights about journalist access, federal courts have ruled that once government officials open their doors to a press corps they may not boot specific outlets just because they don’t like the gist of their reporting.

During Mr. Trump’s first term, the White House rescinded the credentials of two journalists, CNN’s Jim Acosta and the Playboy correspondent Brian Karem. Both were restored after separate court challenges, and in each case, judges highlighted a requirement that before yanking press passes, the White House must provide the affected journalists a chance to rebut the grounds for doing so.

In this case, the outlets “received zero advance notice,” according to the lawsuit.

Despite Mr. Trump’s years of lawsuits and threats against the news media, archrival news organizations have rarely undertaken this kind of collective action.

Five networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — have long shared the responsibility of providing television coverage of the president, splitting the financial costs and distributing footage that is carried by news outlets worldwide. The networks perform their duties on a rotation, and CNN had been scheduled to provide coverage for Mr. Trump’s travel on Monday to the United Nations General Assembly.

It is extremely unusual for a president to travel or hold public events without being accompanied by representatives from the television pool. The president’s activities on Monday were still covered by print, radio and wire journalists, along with still photographers.

“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the president,” Bryan Boughton, the Washington bureau chief at Fox News, wrote in a note to television pool members that was obtained by The New York Times. (Mr. Boughton is the acting chair of the television pool consortium; the networks rotate the chairmanship on a quarterly basis.)

“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,” Mr. Boughton wrote. “There will be no replacement pool put in place.” He said the networks would continue to provide pool coverage for events involving other prominent officials including the vice president and members of Congress.

The five networks later issued a joint statement, writing: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”

In a gesture of support, The New York Times, The Washington Post and other outlets said they would hold off publishing or distributing still photographs taken as part of the White House pool coverage on Monday until midnight.

Network cameras filmed the president in the 1950s, when aides to President Dwight D. Eisenhower maintained editorial control of the footage, according to Kathryn McGarr, a media historian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Administrations often work hand in hand with the television networks, since the arrangement is mutually beneficial. Journalists have an opportunity to preserve the historical record and be present for any unusual event — like when a gunman shot President Ronald Reagan in Washington in 1981 — while the White House receives high-quality footage of the president that can be quickly distributed around the world.

On Monday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the South Lawn offered a glimpse at what can happen when that system breaks down.

The ceremony was the formal opening of Mr. Trump’s new helipad, a project of which he speaks often. No major TV network sent cameras or boom microphones to the event. The White House provided its own YouTube stream, but the audio was garbled and the president’s remarks were almost entirely inaudible.

TV networks have historically been reluctant to yield their ability to film the president, even as Mr. Trump has menaced individual reporters and curtailed access to certain news outlets.

There is some precedent: In 2009, the major networks balked when the Obama administration tried to bar Fox News from participating in a Treasury Department event; the administration backed down. That incident did not involve barring a news outlet from entering the White House.

Mr. Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico caught some of his own aides off guard. The president abruptly announced it in a Truth Social post on Friday, saying he was fed up with what he described as “purposely negative stories.” Journalists from the three organizations had their badges confiscated when they arrived at the White House complex on Saturday.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration on Monday, calling Mr. Trump’s actions a violation of their First Amendment rights. Experts say the ban is unlikely to withstand legal scrutiny. They have also asked a judge to temporarily lift the ban until the courts decide.

Mr. Trump, for his part, doubled down on his decision in a social media post on Monday.

“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” the president wrote. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”