A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore White House access for three news organizations that were barred from the complex last week.
The judge ruled that CNN, Politico and MS NOW must have their access reinstated for 14 days, finding that the ban likely violated the outlets’ constitutional due‑process rights. Some reporters said they were turned away on Thursday morning.
The three outlets filed a lawsuit after their reporters were denied entry last weekend.
In court, the administration defended the ban, accusing the outlets of publishing false information and endangering national security.
It remained unclear whether all reporters from the outlets would be readmitted early Thursday. CNN said some of its reporters were denied while others were let in. MS NOW reported that one of its journalists was stopped, and a Politico reporter said they were turned away.
The White House has not yet commented on the ruling, and the president’s lawyers may pursue further legal action.
Judge Timothy Kelly concluded that CNN, Politico and MS NOW were “likely to succeed” in proving that the White House had not followed “adequate due process” when imposing the ban.
He also cast doubt on the administration’s claim that the bans were driven by national‑security concerns, noting that the president made no such reference when the ban was first announced.
When President Donald Trump announced the ban on Friday, he accused the three outlets of publishing “fake news” and “fictions and lies” about him and his team.
The ruling continued: “The record lacks factual support for the Defendants’ contention that revoking the plaintiffs’ hard passes would protect national security, or that national security would be endangered if the Court orders the passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds.”
In a Tuesday court filing, the Trump administration defended the ban by citing several articles the outlets had published, including pieces about White House construction work such as a new ballroom.
The judge noted that “in most cases” the stories the White House objected to were written by journalists who “did not even hold card passes,” and in the remaining cases the administration failed to show “reason to believe that the reporter’s possession of the hard pass was integral to the stories identified.”
The administration’s original filing included declarations from Defense Department officials supporting the ban, but the judge said those officials had “no direct knowledge of how reporters operate in the White House, or about any of the facts at issue here.”
Ted Boutrous, counsel for the news outlets, told CNN: “This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law.”
On Monday, several major U.S. television networks withdrew from White House pool duties in protest of the ban. The pool system allows media organizations to share material to reduce costs and logistical complexity when covering presidential events for the American public.
Forty‑nine media organizations—including CBS News, The New York Times and Fox News—filed a legal brief supporting CNN, Politico and MS NOW’s lawsuit.
Trump frequently criticizes news organizations, and his administration has initiated legal actions against several outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.
Some of those lawsuits have resulted in settlements where media organizations agreed to pay multi‑million‑dollar amounts. Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC remains ongoing.
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