Banned Media Outlets Prepare Lawsuit Over White House Press Restrictions
A coalition of major news organizations is preparing to sue the Trump administration over new White House press restrictions that have barred several outlets from covering presidential events. The lawsuit follows a weekend incident in which reporters were escorted off White House grounds, though major television crews—including Fox News—were unaffected by the ban and opted not to cover Trump’s press events on Monday. The dispute centers on access to the Oval Office and other restricted presidential spaces, which the administration argues are not open First Amendment forums. “These restricted presidential spaces are not First Amendment fora opened for private speech and discussion,” a panel’s majority wrote, defending the ban.nnPress freedom advocates and First Amendment experts contend the ban goes far beyond legal bounds. Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Newsweek it was “difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of the First Amendment than Trump banning news outlets from the People’s House for reporting critically on the government.” The plaintiffs argue they are suffering “serious irreparable harm,” having “already lost opportunities to perform their constitutionally protected newsgathering and reporting functions at the White House, impairing their ability to speak and publish as members of the press – and they lose more such opportunities every day that the ban remains in effect.” The five television networks that make up the primary video pool—Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News—issued a joint statement: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.” CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox are standing with CNN.nnTrump has defended the restrictions, stating: “In other words, almost without question and, as usual, we’ll go for appeal because Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown ‘sources,’ shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World.” The administration is expected to appeal any adverse ruling. Meanwhile, new polling shows that 20 months into his second term, Trump is underwater in 41 states—including every major battleground state—with the midterm elections now less than two months away. The legal battle is likely to intensify as the election approaches, with both sides digging in over the scope of press access to the
Shimanta Das 
