A federal judge has extended protections allowing journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico to continue accessing the White House, finding that President Donald Trump likely acted unlawfully when he sought to exclude the news organizations over their reporting.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, turning his earlier temporary order restoring the journalists’ access into a measure that will remain in place until the lawsuit reaches a final decision, unless an appeals court intervenes.
The ruling marks another setback for the Trump administration in an escalating dispute over press freedom and the boundaries of presidential authority.
Kelly’s decision expanded on an emergency order issued on September 24, when he directed the White House to restore the journalists’ access after concluding that the ban likely violated their constitutional due process rights.
In his latest ruling, the judge questioned the administration’s argument that national security concerns justified excluding the three outlets. He said Trump’s own public statements indicated that the decision was driven by dissatisfaction with their coverage, which the president had repeatedly described as biased and inaccurate.
“Simply put, that is unlawful viewpoint discrimination,” Kelly wrote.
The judge also made clear that his decision did not mean the president’s criticisms of the news organizations were necessarily without merit. However, disagreements over reporting, he indicated, do not automatically justify restricting journalists’ access to government institutions.
Trump appointed Kelly to the federal bench in 2017, during his first presidential term.
White House defends exclusion of news outlets
The Trump administration appealed the ruling on Wednesday, keeping the dispute alive as the three news organizations continue their legal challenge.
A White House official argued that CNN, MS NOW and Politico could adequately cover the president without entering White House grounds, accusing the outlets of publishing misleading reports.
The Justice Department has defended the restrictions on national security grounds, maintaining that the administration was entitled to impose the ban. The news organizations, however, contend that those arguments were introduced to justify a decision motivated by hostility toward their reporting.
The outlets have described the removal of their White House access as unlawful retaliation. Their lawsuit argues that the restrictions violate the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and the press, as well as constitutional guarantees of due process.
Theodore Boutrous, representing the news organizations, welcomed the judge’s decision, saying the damage caused by the ban extended beyond the outlets themselves to press freedom and the public’s right to receive information.
A wider confrontation with the press
Trump announced the restrictions in September through a post on his social media platform, accusing CNN, Politico and MS NOW of repeatedly spreading falsehoods about the president.
The move has intensified concerns about the administration’s treatment of media organizations critical of its policies. Trump has frequently attacked journalists, pursued legal action against news outlets and favored organizations considered more sympathetic to his administration.
The latest ruling followed an October 8 hearing at which the news organizations and the Justice Department presented competing arguments over whether the journalists should remain protected from exclusion.
Kelly’s September order had already forced the White House to restore their access after he found that the ban likely infringed their constitutional rights. Tuesday’s preliminary injunction now provides a longer-lasting safeguard while the underlying case proceeds.
The dispute comes just weeks before the November 3 US midterm elections, when Republicans are seeking to retain control of Congress. The political stakes are heightened by mounting concerns over inflation, the war involving Iran and declining approval ratings for Trump in opinion polls.
For now, the judge’s decision means the administration cannot simply keep the three news organizations out of the White House while the case remains unresolved. Whether that protection survives the administration’s appeal will be the next major test in a battle that has placed presidential power and independent journalism on a collision course.
