{"id":7592,"date":"2026-09-23T22:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T05:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7882230\/judge-orders-white-house-to-restore-access-to-news-outlets-trump-banned\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T18:01:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T01:01:35","slug":"3-us-news-outlets-return-to-white-house-after-judge-orders-trump-to-lift-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7592\/3-us-news-outlets-return-to-white-house-after-judge-orders-trump-to-lift-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"3 US news outlets return to White House after judge orders Trump to lift ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Three news organizations banned from the White House for days were back Thursday after a judge handed CNN, MS NOW and Politico a reprieve in an extraordinary showdown between President Donald Trump<\/a> and outlets whose coverage he dislikes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But media coverage of Trump\u2019s White House was hardly normal. On a high-profile day when Chinese leader Xi Jinping was visiting<\/a> Washington and attending<\/a> a state dinner, no major American network was airing live coverage.<\/p>\n

After the White House banned CNN from a rotation of five major U.S. broadcast outlets who take turns shooting and sharing video, the other four \u2014 in a show of solidarity \u2014 were still declining to participate in the so-called video pool<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Though CNN and MS NOW were back on the White House grounds Thursday, both news outlets said their journalists were denied access to Xi’s state dinner arrival. CNN wrote in a blog post that the White House said it would only allow a photojournalist and an audio technician to the event, and refused to allow a reporter and a producer entry. <\/p>\n

MS NOW reported that journalist Laura Barr\u00f3n-L\u00f3pez was also denied entry to the arrival ceremony on the portico ahead of the state dinner. Barr\u00f3n-L\u00f3pez was one of the journalists whose press credentials were reinstated under the judge’s order. <\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
CNN Senior Reporter Betsy Klein reports from the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reporters and producers from other networks were allowed in, CNN wrote. <\/p>\n

The president posted online that TV networks \u201crefused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years … because they knew how good it would be, they didn\u2019t want credit to be given to \u201cTRUMP.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a chaotic day for the media at the White House and in court.<\/a><\/p>\n

Initially, in the morning, CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists were denied entry. A Secret Service agent had confiscated their credentials as part of the ban<\/a>. After the ruling for the outlets in the early hours Thursday, White House operations officials were notified to restore access to the affected reporters, but said they needed time to find, reactivate and deliver their entry badges. The process took over two hours, according to an administration court filing.<\/p>\n

In his decision to provisionally lift the ban, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to \u201cimmediately return, reinstate, and restore\u201d the three outlets\u2019 access. He said they had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order and were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process. <\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Vaughn Hillyard, White House correspondent for MS NOW, does a report from near the White House,, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ruling did not address CNN’s removal from the White House video pool. The White House did not respond to an email seeking comment. <\/p>\n

The judge’s ruling issued a temporary order <\/p>\n

Kelly \u2014 whom Trump nominated in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist\u2019s access restored<\/a> in a similar case in 2018 \u2014 said the government must have clear standards for conduct that would lead to revoking a press pass. He called the standard of objectionable reporting outlined in letters that the White House sent the outlets \u201cso vague it hardly does the trick.\u201d <\/p>\n

The judge also made clear he did not buy the administration\u2019s argument that the news outlets\u2019 reporting endangered national security \u2014 and noted that Trump himself had not used that argument in the beginning, focusing solely on what he called negative coverage.<\/p>\n

Theodore Boutrous Jr., the news outlets’ attorney, said the judge\u2019s quick ruling vindicated the freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
The White House is seen, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re going to end up stronger because of this, and this tactic of just attacking the press, attacking individual journalists, is going to be discredited,\u201d Boutrous said in an interview on MS NOW Thursday afternoon. \u201cThe law is just clearly on our side here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The temporary restraining order \u2014 typically designed to preserve the status quo pending a closer review of the case by the court \u2014 expires in two weeks. The judge gave both sides until Oct. 5 to file their arguments over whether he should consider issuing a longer-lasting ruling called a preliminary injunction. Kelly said he \u201cintends to rule expeditiously\u201d on the preliminary injunction request.<\/p>\n

Attorneys debated access to the White House and any risk to national security<\/p>\n

Boutrous argued in the hearing that there was an urgent need for renewed access, saying that the ban caused irreparable harm to the outlets at a time of momentous news events. \u201cWe\u2019re at war,” he told the judge. “We have world leaders coming<\/a> to Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik, in his argument, reiterated the administration\u2019s point that the president has the right to choose who gets into the White House.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccess to the White House is a privilege, not a right,\u201d Velchik said.<\/p>\n

In arguing that Trump was not engaging in viewpoint discrimination \u2014 the government singling out specific media outlets for the content of what they say or publish \u2014 Velchik said the president had criticized other news organizations, but not banned them. He noted, for example, that Trump had called ABC \u201cthe worst.”<\/p>\n

Major networks refrained from covering Trump for the media pool <\/p>\n

On Wednesday, after the hearing, the major networks refused to air footage of Trump without assurances that CNN would be permitted back into the video pool. <\/p>\n

At Joint Base Andrews, where the president formally welcomed Xi, journalists from Fox News, CBS and NBC were present but not shooting video. The major networks also declined to participate in the video pool for the state dinner. <\/p>\n

The chair of the TV press pool, Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon. Earlier this week, Boughton sent an email seen by The Associated Press that advised the TV pool would not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the president after the White House prevented CNN from taking part in the pool. <\/p>\n

Other television outlets whose crews were present for some or both events, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News and LindellTV. <\/p>\n

The Associated Press said it provided video coverage of Trump greeting Xi to its customers, so they could decide whether to broadcast. \u201cWe did not stream the coverage on our own platforms, including APNews.com or our YouTube channel,\u201d said an AP spokesman, Patrick Maks. <\/p>\n

In an advisory to customers, AP said it would not have independent video coverage of meetings between Trump and Xi. It noted that a U.S. government handout live feed could be accessed on the White House website.<\/p>\n

The AP was one of some 50 groups filing an amicus brief ahead of Wednesday\u2019s hearing, urging the court to immediately restore the three outlets\u2019 White House access.<\/p>\n

Some network personalities were invited guests at the state dinner<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Paramount CEO David Ellison, who is several days away from closing a multibillion-dollar merger that will give him control of CBS, CNN and various streaming platforms, was a guest at the state dinner along with his wife. <\/p>\n

So were some Fox News employees, including anchor Bret Baier and commentators Laura Ingraham and Jesse Watters.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Golden reported from Seattle, and Kellman from London. AP reporter Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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