NEW YORK (AP) — The extraordinary showdown between President Donald Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes moves Wednesday to a courtroom in the nation’s capital, where a judge will hear arguments on whether the president’s move banning three news organizations from White House grounds violates the Constitution.
The administration plans to double down on its contention that it has the right to decide who can set foot in the White House. “Access to the White House is a privilege — not a right,” it said in a court filing late Tuesday setting out its arguments.
It also argued that the reporting of the three outlets — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — poses a threat to national security. In his early comments about the case, Trump focused not on national security but on negative coverage by the outlets and allegations of “fake news.”
In the filing, administration lawyers argue that the ban does not violate the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to a free press. It contends that the outlets, in their reporting, violated “standards of professionalism and decorum expected of those given access to the White House complex, including by trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues and publishing sensitive or classified information.”
The administration goes on to detail letters that were sent to each outlet, which identified “a non-exhaustive list of reporting incidents, including those that have threatened national security and spread falsehoods.”
The “reporting incidents” cited in the filing included: CNN reporting on “‘top-secret’ construction details related to the East Wing bunker”; MS NOW reporting “on an alleged leak investigation”; and Politico publishing “a document detailing funding for the White House ballroom containing intricate descriptions of how the Secret Service would invest in security improvements.”
Further examples were given in individual letters. Politico’s letter detailed six incidents of reporting, including the outlet in June citing a “senior administration official … granted anonymity” predicting whether a preliminary deal would end the conflict with Iran.
That item appeared to reference a background briefing set up by the White House, where an official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House itself. Several other outlets reported the official’s remarks.
Trump began to emphasize the national security argument Tuesday, when he said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.
“I think we have a right to clean out fake news,” he told reporters at the United Nations, defending the ban, which was suddenly announced Friday. The next day, journalists for the three outlets arrived at work to find their entry badges disabled.
On Monday, the outlets filed their joint lawsuit, alleging they were singled out because of the content of their coverage — in other words, viewpoint discrimination. They called this a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment and asked the court to immediately restore their access.
The ban prompted other media outlets to take action in solidarity. The five-network U.S. network press pool, to which CNN belongs, decided to suspend coverage of Trump events until further notice. The Associated Press also joined a group of organizations that refrained from publishing photos of the president Monday. On Wednesday, the network pool was again missing from a daily White House press schedule.
The ban and subsequent lawsuit are part of a long-running conflict between the president — especially in his second term — and media outlets he finds unfavorable. Trump has responded in the courtroom, or with regulatory action. He’s also lashed out at individual reporters in personal terms.
The administration’s filing to the court also relies on historical anecdotes to argue that a president can decide which news outlets to grant favorable treatment.
It says that in the early 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt “began a practice of regularly inviting reporters into the Oval Office for off-the-record press conferences while he received his ‘regular midday shave,’” and adds that Roosevelt “used the conference as an occasion for reward and punishment, screening out the reporters who were the least likely to be sympathetic to his policies.”
It also says President John F. Kennedy “sought to ‘court star correspondents’ and thus gave certain reporters ‘special access’ and ‘advance notice of administration announcements.’”
Trump administration will defend its ban of three prominent news outlets in court hearing 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-09-23 17:52:22
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
