In a late‑Tuesday filing, the Department of Justice argued that the ban on the three news organizations should remain in place, contending that the outlets have repeatedly published "verifiable falsehoods" and disclosed sensitive or classified information that jeopardized national security. The filing, submitted in response to a lawsuit filed on Monday, asks the court to reject the media groups’ bid to regain access to the White House.
The lawsuit, lodged in federal court in Washington, D.C., claims that the revocation of credentials violates the outlets’ First Amendment right to free press and their Fifth Amendment right to due process, asserting that the government cannot strip privileges without warning or an opportunity to appeal.
The DOJ’s brief includes copies of White House letters dated Sept. 22 that accuse CNN, MS Now and Politico of trafficking in falsehoods about a range of topics – from construction of an East Wing bunker and alleged depletion of U.S. ammunition during the Iran conflict, to reporting on the administration’s sanctions on Russia and the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. The letters allege that the reporting threatened national security or spread misinformation.
The letters, sent four days after Trump announced the ban, gave the outlets a Friday deadline to submit written complaints contesting the decision. An emergency hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, a session that could become a test case for First‑Amendment protections under the Trump administration.
The latest ban follows a pattern of credential revocations by Trump. In his first term, he stripped CNN’s Jim Acosta of his White House pass, and he previously barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One after the outlet refused to use his preferred term “Gulf of America” for the Gulf of Mexico. Trump told reporters that the current ban was not triggered by any single story but by “two years of unfair and negative coverage.”