Trump’s White House media ban faces another setback as federal judge issues a preliminary injunction

A federal judge late Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the White House from enforcing a ban on CNN, Politico and MS NOW inside the White House complex, according to NBC News. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly wrote in a 26-page opinion that Donald Trump’s move likely violated reporters’ freedom of speech and due process rights.

“There is practically nothing national security-related in the record connected to the President’s decision to revoke Plaintiffs’ hard passes to which the Court can defer,” he mentioned. The order restores the outlets’ access to the White House complex until the case is decided but does not require the White House to let those reporters into the Oval Office or onto Air Force One.

Kelly wrote that “President Trump likely banned Plaintiffs from the White House because he believes that their reporting is generally inaccurate and biased against him.” He also mentioned that the decision does not mean the government was “powerless when its true aim is to protect national security when classified information is unlawfully disclosed.”

Trump administration was not happy

Earlier, President Donald Trump announced the bans on Truth Social, calling them a “result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!.” He later called the reporting “a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!” Following this, many media outlets halted Trump’s coverage in solidarity.

At a hearing, Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik asked the judge to lift the restraining order, arguing the White House does not have to admit people just because they “identify as a reporter.” He told the court, “Access to the White House is a privilege — not a right.”

Ted Boutrous, the news outlets’ attorney, urged that the administration was engaged in an unconstitutional “viewpoint discrimination.” He wrote, “The President himself has continued telling anyone who will listen precisely what this ban is really about, most recently complaining at length in an interview with Time magazine that he banned Plaintiffs because he feels that he should not ‘be forced to bear’ what he considers ‘constantly bad stories,’ as he ‘won the election’ and has ‘done great things.’”

Boutrous said his clients were grateful to the court. “The President has repeatedly, candidly, and consistently admitted in public that he banned our clients from the White House to punish reporting he doesn’t like,” he said. He added that, “The Court was right to enjoin the White House from enforcing this ‘unconstitutional ban.'”