Trump Administration DOJ Challenges 50-Year Precedent on White House Press Credentials
President Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) has asserted that a nearly 50-year-old ruling, Sherrill v. Knight (1977), which protects journalists' access to White House press credentials, was "wrong" and should be overturned. In a recent court filing, the DOJ argued against key aspects of this 1977 decision. The Sherrill v. Knight ruling established that if the White House denies a journalist a press pass, they must be provided with notice of the reason for the denial and an opportunity to respond. The Trump administration's lawyers stated, "While Defendants acknowledge Sherrill’s holding that White House reporters have protectable due process rights in their hard passes, Defendants respectfully submit that Sherill was wrongly decided and expressly reserve their right to argue this on appeal." This filing comes in response to a First Amendment lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, after President Trump banned them from the White House, accusing them of reporting "fiction and lies."
