The White House has defended its decision to remove CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists from its premises, alleging in a court filing on Tuesday that the three news organisations violated administration standards of conduct.
According to The New York Times, the White House cited alleged violations including “trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information.”
“Access to the White House is a privilege — not a right,” administration officials argued in the filing. They maintained that President Donald Trump’s decision did not violate the First Amendment and pointed to a history of presidents granting different levels of access to journalists.
The filing described the administration’s decision as preliminary and gave the three organisations until Friday to challenge it.
The dispute began last Friday when Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that the outlets would be barred from the White House, accusing them of repeatedly publishing what he called “FICTION and LIES.”
Reporters representing CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied access to the White House grounds the following morning, and their press credentials were confiscated.
The three news organisations responded on Monday by filing a lawsuit challenging the decision. They argue that the administration “brazenly discriminates based on editorial viewpoint” and that the restrictions violate their First Amendment rights.
Their complaint also alleges that the outlets were given no warning or opportunity to respond before their credentials were revoked.
They “received zero advance notice that the president would ban a news organization from the White House if he dislikes its coverage,” the lawsuit states.
The administration’s allegations against the outlets and the news organisations’ constitutional claims are now before the court and have not been resolved by a judicial ruling.