CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO jointly announced on Monday that they were suing the Trump administration to safeguard their First Amendment rights following the revocation of their journalists' White House credentials.
According to the official announcement published by POLITICO and The Wall Street Journal, the organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the sudden revocation of their journalists' White House credentials without prior notice, claiming the move infringes on First Amendment rights and endangers press freedom.
"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," wrote POLITICO in its statement.
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"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," the joint statement further read.
After President Trump announced on September 19 via Truth Social that he was banning the outlets over claims of "fake news", White House correspondents from CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO discovered their credentials had been deactivated or taken away over the weekend.
Represented by First Amendment lawyer Ted Boutrous, who previously represented Jim Acosta in his 2018 credential dispute, the news outlets cite well-established legal precedents showing that the White House cannot unilaterally limit press access based on the content of coverage.
Even with these physical limitations, all three organisations confirmed that their independent reporting on the administration will continue without interruption.
The three outlets will jointly submit a motion requesting a judge to grant a temporary restraining order that prevents Trump and other defendants from taking additional steps to enforce the ban, while also mandating that they immediately reinstate so-called hard-pass press credentials to the plaintiffs, credentials that grant their reporters access to the White House, according to CNBC.
Alongside Trump, the defendants include his communications assistant Steven Cheung, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, and Sean Curran, director of the US Secret Service.
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The named plaintiffs consist of three outlets and three White House reporters: Akayla Gardner of MS NOW; Betsy Klein of CNN; and Cheyenne Haslett of Politico.
According to the lawsuit, all three journalists were refused entry to the White House on Saturday and had their hard passes removed by a Secret Service officer present there.
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