Court preserves CNN, MS NOW and Politico access through Tuesday
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly extended temporary protection for CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters' White House access through Tuesday, October 13. He plans to decide their request for a longer-lasting injunction no later than that day.
At the October 8 hearing, Kelly examined the Trump administration's reasons for excluding the three outlets. CBS News reported that he repeatedly questioned the gap between Donald Trump's public complaints about negative coverage and the government's arguments about professional standards and national security.
The outlets' lawyer, Ted Boutrous, sought protection lasting throughout the litigation. He said the ban affected 78 credentialed journalists and argued that it punished unfavorable reporting, violating First Amendment protections and due process.
Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik defended the decision. He said reporters had failed to meet minimum professional standards and published material threatening national security. In written arguments, the department cited classified and sensitive information and maintained that the outlets had received adequate notice and an opportunity to respond.
Kelly questioned how those explanations matched Trump's own statements. He asked for the strongest evidence that the ban served national security and challenged whether portraying an administration negatively could itself breach journalistic standards.
Procedural fairness remains central. In his earlier temporary order, Kelly said the outlets were likely to succeed in arguing that they received neither advance warning nor an opportunity to respond before access was withdrawn. At the new hearing, he cited a 2020 appeals court ruling requiring meaningful standards and fair notice before suspending a journalist's credential.
Trump announced the ban on Truth Social in September. Reporters were turned away the following morning and their passes confiscated. The outlets sued jointly on September 21. A day later, the White House sent letters citing stories about its new ballroom, the Iran war and the Republican midterm convention.
The outlets dispute the connection between those stories and individual correspondents' access. Most cited authors lacked White House credentials, while one Politico report was based on a press call organized by the administration. The Justice Department said the organizations declined to respond by the September 25 deadline.
Reporters regained their passes nearly 12 hours after Kelly's September order. CBS News said CNN and Politico nevertheless remained excluded from Oval Office events and Air Force One travel covered by the rotating press pool. The outlets describe continuing retaliation, while the administration calls access a privilege. The temporary extension does not resolve the merits of the case.
