WASHINGTON – Reporters from three media outlets that President Donald Trump banned from the White House were blocked from returning to the campus Sept. 24 even after a judge ruled that the revocation of their credentials probably violated the Constitution.
Trump revoked credentials for CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Sept. 18, accusing the reporters of publishing inaccurate stories and threatening national security.
But U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the White House to reinstate the credentials temporarily while the news outlets fight the revocation in court.
Reporters for the three organizations said they continued to be blocked from entering White House grounds on Sept. 24 despite Kelly’s order.
CNN reporter Betsy Klein
and a photojournalist were denied access to the White House grounds after multiple attempts. But a CNN producer was allowed onto the grounds.
MS NOW White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López said on air that she was similarly denied entry and had her badge confiscated. Politico also said one of its reporters was barred.
Kelly had said in his order restoring their credentials for 14 days because they had been revoked without “constitutionally adequate due process.”
"For one thing, nothing in the record that predates this suit suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns," wrote Kelly, who ruled in 2018 against Trump suspending another CNN reporter’s credentials.
Kelly also said he is bound by a 1977 precedent, when a federal appeals court ruled that the White House cannot arbitrarily deny press passes to reporters based on the content of their coverage if the White House has voluntarily opened its doors to media and established facilities for the press.
Trump has said he would appeal the ruling.
The organizations have continued to report on Trump and the White House, but haven’t been allowed on the grounds.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CNN, MS NOW, Politico still barred from White House despite judge's order
