Federal Judge Blocks Ban on Journalists at the White House

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday preventing the Trump administration from enforcing a ban on journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico at the White House. The court found that these media outlets are likely to succeed on their claims of due process violations and First Amendment protections.

In a detailed 26-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled that the revocation of credentials for the journalists likely violated the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause and amounted to unlawful First Amendment retaliation and viewpoint discrimination. Kelly, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, instructed administration officials, excluding Trump, not to enforce the September 18 decision that revoked White House hard-pass credentials for employees of the affected outlets while the case is ongoing.

Newsweek contacted the White House for comments. The judge noted that Trump likely banned the organizations due to his perception of their reporting being inaccurate and biased against him. Kelly wrote, “Freed from such a naiveté, it is not hard to conclude that President Trump likely banned Plaintiffs from the White House because he believes that their reporting is generally inaccurate and biased against him.”

The court dismissed the administration’s argument linking the credential revocations to national security concerns, stating there was “practically nothing national security-related in the record connected to the President’s decision.” Kelly further determined that the outlets demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm, highlighting that the loss of constitutional freedoms “for even minimal periods of time” represents irreparable injury.

Trump announced the ban on September 18, citing years of “fake news” coverage by the outlets. The following day, journalists from these organizations were denied entry to the White House complex due to the deactivation of their credentials. In response, the outlets, along with several journalists, filed a lawsuit arguing the ban infringed their Fifth Amendment due process rights and constituted retaliation and viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment.

Previously, Kelly had granted a temporary restraining order to restore access for the organizations. His decision references longstanding D.C. Circuit precedent, affirming that White House hard-pass holders have protected constitutional interests in these credentials and they cannot be removed without proper due process. Kelly cited Trump’s public statements about the ban, including remarks about negative news coverage and his preference for the outlets to “straighten themselves out.” Kelly labeled these actions as “unlawful viewpoint discrimination.”

The Department of Justice contended that White House access is “a privilege — not a right,” asserting that credentials do not have attached due process or First Amendment rights, and argued that greater discretion over press access should be afforded to the president. It justified Trump’s actions by claiming the outlets failed to meet “minimum requirements of professionalism” and accused them of publishing sensitive national security information.

Newsweek’s reporting team, assisted by Martyn, our AI assistant, compiled this story.