President Donald Trump has publicly vowed to appeal a judge’s ruling regarding a media access lawsuit, even though a federal judge has yet to issue any such ruling in the case, Deadline reports. This situation stems from a lawsuit filed on Monday by CNN, Politico, and MS NOW against the administration following a ban on their access to the White House. The legal challenge, which aims to restore credentials for correspondents, was assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly.
Judge Kelly set a hearing for Wednesday to discuss the motion for a temporary restraining order. While Judge Kelly was appointed by President Trump during his first term, he previously ruled in favor of CNN and Jim Acosta when the administration revoked credentials in a prior instance.
In that earlier case, the court determined that the White House must provide proper notice before revoking access. This aligns with the 1977 D.C. Circuit opinion in Sherrill vs. Knight, which established that press access cannot be denied arbitrarily or without compelling reasons.
President Trump shared his perspective on Truth Social on Monday
He wrote, “As expected, Fake News CNN, Politico (Pay back the 8 Million Dollar contribution made by the U.S. Government to keep them afloat!), and MSNOW (formerly known as MSDNC!), have brought suit to gain access to the White House, and your President, ME! They have drawn a great Judge, for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta, who now seems to have disappeared from the Planet. The Judge’s name is Tim Kelly, and he was, sadly, appointed by ‘TRUMP.’
Trump continued, “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 current ban was announced on Friday. Reporters from the involved networks discovered their hard passes were no longer functional on Saturday, effectively barring them from the White House grounds.
This is a significant step beyond previous disputes, such as the case involving the Associated Press last year. In that instance, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, another Trump appointee, sided with the Associated Press after they were restricted from pool events for declining to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Judge McFadden stated in his opinion, “The Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less.” That decision remains under appeal.
President Trump has been clear that the current restrictions are a response to the coverage provided by these outlets. He wrote on Truth Social that “FAKE NEWS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.” He further commented, “Virtually every story about me, or anything having to do with me, is negative, wrong and, in many cases, DANGEROUS for our Country! No matter how GREAT my Achievements, they trivialize and demean. “
The post continues, “The fact is, I won all seven Swing States, the Popular Vote, the Electoral College (312 to 226), and the Counties throughout America by 86%, and yet it is reported that I get 94% bad publicity. With such a Crooked and Corrupt Press, how did I win in such a LANDSLIDE? It is because the Media has NO credibility, and that is a very bad thing for our Nation! Why should I have to give “access” to such people? Perhaps Judge Kelly could explain that!”
Judge Kelly has ordered the administration to provide a response to the lawsuit by Tuesday.
Published: Sep 22, 2026 04:39 pm