CNN, MS Now and Politico to sue Trump after being blocked from White House

In what will be one of the largest battles yet between the press and Donald Trump’s administration, three news organizations – CNN, MS Now (formerly MSNBC) and Politico – that have been denied access to the White House are suing to regain their ability to enter the building, accusing the president of violating the US constitution.

The suit will be filed Monday morning in the US district court for Washington DC.

Journalists for the three news organizations were denied access to the White House and had their badges disabled on Saturday after the president decreed a day earlier that they would lose their ability to enter the building because of his concerns about their coverage. The parties are seeking a temporary restraining order that would immediately lift the ban – and return access for the journalists – while the case plays out.

“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,” the news organizations said in a statement, referring to the US constitutional amendment guaranteeing a free press.

“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.”

In their lawsuit and request for a temporary restraining order, both of which will be filed Monday, the parties argue that because the White House has granted access to journalists, those privileges cannot be rescinded based purely on viewpoint considerations. Case law heavily favors the plaintiffs, including past legal challenges that successfully returned the press badges of journalists Jim Acosta – then of CNN – and Brian Karem, then of Playboy magazine, during Trump’s first presidency.

“Defendants took these actions in express retaliation for Plaintiffs’ First Amendment-protected newsgathering and speech because they dislike that speech’s content and viewpoint, and for the express purpose of excluding journalists and news organizations with editorial viewpoints disfavored by the Trump administration from the White House grounds,” lawyers for the news organization wrote in a motion, further alleging that the news organizations were unfairly deprived an opportunity to contest the ban as required by the fifth amendment of the US constitution.

Laying out the stakes of the ban, the plaintiffs wrote that “they have been suffering serious irreparable harm”, adding: “They have already lost opportunities to perform their constitutionally protected newsgathering and reporting functions at the White House, impairing their ability to speak and publish as members of the press – and they lose more such opportunities every day that the ban remains in effect.”

Trump announced the ban late last week in a post on Truth Social, writing that it was “a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.” He added: “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America.” He also claimed that “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow,” though only the three news organizations have so far had their access revoked. During an appearance at the White House, Trump referred to his move as a “ban on the free press”.

Citing Trump’s own words, the news organizations wrote in their lawsuit that “this ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles.”

While there was some uncertainty about whether Trump would follow through, it became clear that the ban was put into effect when journalists from MS Now and CNN attempted to access the building on Saturday morning but were told that their badges had been disabled and were taken.

CNN was scheduled to serve as the television pooler on Monday. But the White House removed the organization from the five-member group that provides video of the president’s activities to the rest of the news media. CNN was scheduled to accompany Trump as he traveled to New York City for the United Nations general assembly.

On Monday morning, subscribers of the White House television pool received a memo stating that there would be no pool coverage of the president for the day. “This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” the memo reads. “This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place.” Pool subscribers were told that updates would be provided “as this situation develops”.

The Guardian has reached out to the White House for comment on the planned lawsuit.

Trump responded to news of the pending lawsuit in a post on Truth Social, writing: “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. It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University said on Monday that it would support the news organizations in their lawsuit.

“We’re glad to see that these news organizations are suing,” Jameel Jaffer, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement. “The president’s decision to bar them from the White House for the content of their reporting is a flagrant violation of the First Amendment. It’s an attack both on press freedom and the public’s right to independent information about the government. We will support these news organizations in court.”