Trump Administration Sued By News Outlets Banned From White House - Newsweek

Three news outlets that President Donald Trump banned from the White House last week have filed a First Amendment lawsuit in a bid to restore their access.

In a joint statement on Monday, CNN, Politico and MS Now said: "This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes."

"Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference," the statement continued.

After the lawsuit was confirmed, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.

"It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!"

When contacted for comment, the White House referred Newsweek to the above statement.

Vice President JD Vance addressed the ban while speaking with Fox News, footage of which the White House's Rapid Response account shared on X.

"He's not banning media outlets," Vance said. "What he's doing is saying, 'We're not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda.'"

Trump first confirmed the ban in a Truth Social post on Friday, saying the three outlets would not be permitted at the White House "as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!"

"Media Outlets shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America," Trump wrote. "Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow."

The move signifies an escalation in Trump's war against "fake news," which he has railed against for more than a decade.

The legal filing, reviewed by Newsweek, said the ban "could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles."

"The ban is unconstitutional and should be immediately restrained," it continued. The suit alleges that the ban violates the Due Process Clause and "retaliates against protected newsgathering and speech in violation of the First Amendment."

It also alleges that Trump's statements "make clear he implemented the ban to coerce more favorable coverage of the administration" from the three outlets.

The lawsuit seeks to have access reinstated and the ban overturned, as well as a declaration that the ban violates the First and Fifth Amendments.

Correspondents from the three outlets were turned away from the White House on Saturday morning.

MS Now White House correspondent Akayla Gardner said on the air that her entry badge had been confiscated.

On Saturday, a CNN spokesperson said in a statement to Newsweek: "CNN's mission to report on the U.S. government will continue, regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings, or any other attempts to impede our journalism.

"We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government, and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right," the spokesperson added.

Politico said on Friday that it intended to "fairly report" on Trump, as well as future White House administrations.

"We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them," the outlet told Newsweek in a statement.

Jonathan Greenberger, Politico's editor-in-chief, also said in a statement after reporter Cheyenne Haslett was denied entry to the White House: "We stand by her and all reporters here covering the White House. As we said yesterday, we will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights."

MS Now meanwhile said in a statement on X, "The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars."

The other major networks that make up the TV pool—CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox—are standing with CNN.

Bryan Boughton, Fox News' Washington bureau chief, wrote in an email to TV pool subscribers that was reported by CNN, "Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the president."

"This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place."

The move could in turn make it more difficult for images, videos and general coverage of Trump's activities to make their way to the American public.

The ban has been widely condemned, including by former President Barack Obama and press freedom advocates and organizations.

Speaking at an event at Colgate University in New York on Friday, Obama criticized the restrictions and contrasted them with how his administration treated Fox News.

"I'm trying to think what would have happened if I had said, 'You know what, Fox News, you're out of here,'" Obama said. "It's unimaginable."

"If you have a certain cohort—let's call it 30-35 percent of the country right now—which thinks that's OK, well, what that means is we have not developed the kind of understanding of what democracy requires," he added. "And we've gotta shore that back up."

Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary during the George W. Bush administration, said on X that while he agreed with Trump that several outlets were biased and unfair, "banning them from the WH is not the solution."

Jacqui Heinrich, the president of the White House Correspondents' Association, also condemned the ban, writing on X that it "violates the First Amendment."

"The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future," she added.

Seth Stern, the chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, previously told Newsweek that 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."

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.

Nationally, Trump stands at 61 percent disapproval and 33 percent approval.

With only nine states giving the president a positive net approval rating and prediction markets increasingly favoring Democrats' prospects, Republicans are concerned, and a high-profile lawsuit with the press ahead of the midterms may further color public opinion of the Trump administration.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Shakeema Edwards.