Breaking: Judge orders reversal of Trump's White House media ban - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The judge said Donald Trump's ban on the media outlets was likely unconstitutional. (Reuters: Mike Segar)

A US judge has ordered Donald Trump to restore access to the White House for three media outlets he had banned: CNN, Politico and MS Now.

Judge Tim Kelly ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the outlets' press passes and blocked officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days.

The judge rejected the US government's assertion that the ban was motivated by national security concerns.

A federal judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying his ban on the three media outlets was likely unconstitutional.

US District Judge Tim Kelly issued his order in a lawsuit that the news organisations filed contesting the ban, which the Republican president announced on September 18.

Mr Trump had said on social media that the three outlets "shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES", and Justice Department lawyers had sought to justify the ban on national security grounds.

All three news outlets said their teams' press passes were confiscated on Saturday morning, local time, when their reporters went to the White House.

The US president has developed a hostile relationship with journalists and media outlets who report critically on his administration, during his two terms in office.

In response to the ban, the remainder of the White House television pool announced it would suspend coverage of Mr Trump.

The three outlets sued Mr Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington on Monday, saying the ban violated the US Constitution's First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights.

They requested a temporary restraining order that would immediately reinstate their White House access while their legal challenge played out.

Justice Kelly ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the outlets' press passes and blocked officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days.

The judge rejected the government's assertion that the ban was motivated by national security concerns.

"The record lacks factual support for defendants' contention that the revocation of plaintiffs' hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds," Justice Kelly said.

He added that Mr Trump himself had stated the ban was due to "alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity" of the outlets' reporting.

The legal battle unfolded just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections in which Mr Trump's fellow Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress.

Mr Trump's job approval ratings are at record lows in opinion polls amid concerns over issues such as the Iran war and inflation.

Justice Kelly said at a Wednesday hearing that two precedents from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made clear that journalists were entitled to due process before their White House press passes could be revoked.

The judge added that it did not appear that the White House had given the targeted news outlets a meaningful opportunity to contest the revocation of their access.

Other media organisations in the US showed solidarity with the outlets Donald Trump had banned. (Reuters: Evan Vucci)

In a legal filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that access to the White House was a privilege, not an entitlement, and that the president had the authority to suspend access by news organisations.

A coalition of press freedom groups and dozens of news organisations filed a legal brief on Wednesday supporting the three news outlets.

They asserted that "stripping journalists and news outlets of their rights because of perceived editorial viewpoint violates decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence".

The brief was signed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reuters, the Washington Post and Fox News, among others.

The White House and representatives for the outlets did not immediately respond to requests for comment.