Trump Action Archive

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.

Supporting reports

• Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore White House press credentials to banned outlets — U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued an early-morning order on Thursday requiring the Trump administration to restore press credentials to journalists from CNN, MS Now, and Politico for a 14-day period. The judge found the administration likely violated due process and First Amendment protections when it revoked the outlets' hard passes on Saturday without advance notice or opportunity to be heard. Kelly ruled the standards cited by the White House were "so vague" as to be constitutionally inadequate and expressed skepticism that national security was the actual motivation, noting Trump's content-based statements about the ban. A hearing on a preliminary injunction was scheduled during the 14-day restoration period.
• Federal judge ordered White House to restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters — U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day restraining order requiring the White House to immediately restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters after Trump banned them. The judge found the news organizations were likely to succeed on their claim that their passes were revoked without due process. When reporters attempted to cover Trump's event with Chinese President Xi, they were initially denied access in defiance of the court order, prompting attorneys to file an emergency motion. The White House eventually admitted the reporters after other media outlets joined a boycott.
• U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted media outlets' request to block Trump's White House ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico — After a hearing on Trump's Friday ban of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House campus, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly (appointed by Trump in 2017) granted the media outlets' request for a temporary restraining order, finding that the administration's national security justification was pretextual. Kelly noted that the stories the White House objected to were "routine" and that one was based on a White House press call. Kelly ordered the credentials of 78 journalists restored immediately.