Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Federal judge voids DOJ policy collecting state voter rolls — US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ruled that the Trump administration's Department of Justice policy of collecting unredacted state voter rolls to cross-check against a federal immigration database violated federal privacy laws and exceeded DOJ authority. The policy, adopted under Trump's election integrity executive order, had already removed US citizens from voter rolls and risked further disenfranchisement. Sooknanan found Congress, not the federal government, controls voter roll maintenance. The lawsuit was brought by Common Cause after roughly 18 states complied with DOJ requests in May, providing voters' names, birth dates, addresses, and partial identification numbers.

Supporting reports

• White House bars Politico from Air Force One press pool; CNN also repeatedly excluded — The White House refused to allow Politico on Air Force One on Monday, preventing the news organization from fulfilling its press corps pool responsibilities. This follows a pattern: news outlets filed a lawsuit on September 21 alleging the ban violates the First and Fifth Amendments. Judge Timothy Kelly sided with the plaintiffs and issued a temporary restraining order requiring the Trump administration to reinstate journalists' press badges. Since then, the White House has repeatedly barred CNN from traveling on Air Force One on days when it was CNN's turn to be the TV pool representative. The Trump administration appears to be justifying these restrictions by claiming access to the White House complex differs from access to tight spaces like Air Force One. Judge Kelly is scheduled to hold a hearing on Thursday over the news outlets' request for a preliminary injunction.
• White House blocks Politico from Air Force One pool rotation — The White House decided to block Politico from riding on Air Force One and called numerous other outlets to ask one to fill the primary print slot for the out-of-town pool rotation. Each of those outlets declined to step in, leaving the pool slot unfilled.
• Trump administration defended restrictions on news organizations' press access — The Trump administration continued to defend its decision to restrict press access for reporters from CNN, MSNBC, and Politico on journalistic conduct grounds. CNN, MSNBC, and Politico filed a federal court challenge, asking a judge to continue blocking the restrictions and to rule on long-term protections. The judge previously ordered temporary relief and is expected to rule on permanent protections.