By Susan Heavey, Jonathan Stempel and Helen Coster
WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued President Donald Trump and other members of his administration on Monday for banning them from White House grounds, saying it violated their rights to free speech and a free press under the US Constitution's First Amendment.
The news outlets are seeking a temporary restraining order to block Trump's action in federal court in Washington, D.C., and could see emergency hearings in the case
as soon as this week.
"Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference," the outlets wrote in a joint statement. "The government does not decide what the press reports or publishes."
Trump announced the ban on Friday on social media and defended it in another post on Monday, claiming without evidence that news media posed a national security threat.
"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," Trump wrote on Monday. "It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!"
Past presidents have battled with the press, but Trump's campaign against the media has been unprecedented. He has upended decades of tradition by denying basic access to many major news organizations, launching personal attacks on journalists for their reporting and elevating new media outlets seen as more sympathetic to the administration. He has also filed a number of lawsuits against news organizations.
CNN is one of the five news organizations – along with ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC – that make up the primary White House television pool. They share the costs of covering the president, take turns organizing coverage and share the footage with outlets around the country.
CNN, which had been scheduled to cover Trump's trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, was not able to provide a pool feed.
In response, the other major TV networks have suspended presidential pool coverage, effectively eliminating the most important video source for White House events.
"This is to advise that, effective today (Monday), the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President," Bryan Boughton, who runs the Fox News Washington bureau and is the current TV pool chair, said in an email Monday.
"This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties," Boughton added. "There will be no replacement pool put in place."
'BAN ON THE FREE PRESS'
Trump's latest move comes as his fellow Republicans seek to defend their narrow majorities in Congress in the November midterm elections. Polls show the public souring on Republicans and Trump's own approval ratings stand near historic lows.
On Saturday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico said their journalists were turned away from the White House grounds and had their press credentials confiscated. Over the weekend, they stationed journalists across the street from the White House and continued coverage.
Trump on Friday addressed what he called his "ban on the free press" at an Oval Office event, and said no particular incident provoked the move.
Asked what other news organizations could be targeted, Trump cited the New York Times and Washington Post as "fake news" but said they had not been removed.
The Associated Press, the White House Correspondents' Association and others have criticized Trump's ban, citing the fundamental American right to free speech and calling for access to be immediately restored. The AP filed its own lawsuit after being barred along with Reuters last year from the group of reporters that cover the president's daily movements.
During his first term in office, Trump sought to revoke or suspend White House credentials of two correspondents for CNN and Playboy magazine, but federal judges ordered their passes restored.
LONGTIME PRESS CRITIC
Trump long has been a critic of the press, rising to fame as a New York real estate developer widely covered in local tabloids, and then as a reality television personality.
He has stepped up his assault on the media since winning a second term as president in 2024, suing multiple outlets and repeatedly urging broadcasters to drop programs he deems unfair.
Trump has also called on the Federal Communications Commission to strip disfavored broadcast stations of their licenses, including several owned by or affiliated with ABC. Disney owns ABC.
David Ellison, son of Trump ally and Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, took control of Paramount and its CBS news unit, leading to a controversial shakeup at "60 Minutes," the most popular US TV news magazine.
Ellison is now seeking to acquire CNN parent Warner Bros, in a move approved by the Trump administration. A number of US states have sued to block the merger. Reuters has reported a settlement is under consideration, and Bloomberg News said on Monday a settlement had been reached, citing a person familiar with the matter.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Mike Scarcella in Washington; Nupur Anand, Jonathan Stempel and Helen Coster in New York; and Jaspreet Singh, Anusha Shah and Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Louise Heavens, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Will Dunham and Susan Fenton)
