Judge Blocks White House Ban on CNN, Politico and MS NOW

A federal judge ordered the White House early Thursday to immediately restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, finding that President Donald Trump’s ban on the three outlets most likely violated constitutional due process, AFP and NBC News reported.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee from the president’s first term, granted a 14-day temporary restraining order that reinstates the outlets’ hard passes while their lawsuit proceeds. In an eight-page ruling, Kelly wrote that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed at least on due-process grounds because the credentials were revoked without notice or an opportunity to be heard.

Trump announced the ban Friday on Truth Social, casting it as punishment for what he called “fake news,” “fiction and lies,” and negative coverage of his administration. Journalists for the three organizations were denied access to White House grounds on Saturday and had their passes confiscated, AFP reported. The White House later sent letters accusing the outlets of trafficking in falsehoods and publishing sensitive or classified information, including stories tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict and a planned East Wing ballroom bunker.

Kelly rejected the national-security framing on the current record. He wrote that Trump’s own announcement focused on alleged untruthfulness and negativity rather than security, and he described the cited articles as “routine.” “The Court is skeptical — at least on this record — that Defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes,” Kelly wrote, according to AFP.

Attorney Theodore Boutrous, representing the media outlets, told AFP the decision was “a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law.” NBC News quoted the same statement and noted that Trump had posted before Wednesday’s hearing that he expected Kelly to rule against him and would appeal “as usual.” Kelly said the temporary order cannot be immediately appealed.

The Department of Justice had argued that access to restricted presidential areas is a privilege, not a right, and that the president may control who enters spaces such as the Oval Office. Kelly pointed to D.C. Circuit precedent requiring formally articulated standards before a reporter’s hard pass can be revoked, and he found the professionalism standards offered in the letters too vague to meet that bar, NBC News reported.

Solidarity across the press corps intensified before the ruling. ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said Monday they were halting White House television pool coverage in solidarity with CNN. The White House Correspondents’ Association and nearly 50 news organizations filed a brief urging the bans to be reversed. NBC News noted that NBCUniversal Media LLC, its parent company, joined that filing.

The dispute lands as the White House also launched a streaming channel branded Trump TV, which the administration said would carry remarks and highlight clips around the clock. Separately, Trump told a CNN reporter at the United Nations General Assembly that he was surprised the network was covering him and that it “shouldn’t be here,” AFP reported.

For readers following Washington media fights on Daily News, Thursday’s order restores access for now but leaves the underlying First Amendment challenge open for further litigation within the 14-day window. Coverage of related diplomatic and conflict reporting has already shaped recent U.S.-Iran talks reporting on the site, underscoring why White House credential fights matter beyond the briefing room.

Kelly previously ordered temporary restoration of a CNN reporter’s pass during Trump’s first term, AFP noted, giving the latest decision an institutional echo even as the facts and outlets differ. Whether the administration seeks longer-term restrictions after the restraining order expires will determine if Thursday’s win becomes a lasting press-access reset or another round in an unresolved fight over who may cover the presidency from inside the complex.