CNN, MS NOW and Politico will sue the Trump administration Monday to restore their White House access after reporters for all three outlets were turned away from the property over the weekend.
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the outlets said in a joint statement.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the statement went on. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
President Trump announced Friday afternoon that all three outlets were barred “effective immediately” for allegedly reporting “Fake News.”
During a subsequent Oval Office event, the president claimed his edict was the result of “cumulative stories over the last two years” rather than any single report, adding: “You get sick of it.”
“I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can, and if they could straighten themselves out, I’d love it.”
