White House turns away CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters
Press passes confiscated after Trump announces ban on three outlets
Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied White House access after their passes were confiscated, following President Trump’s announcement banning the outlets. All three say they will challenge the move on First Amendment grounds.
The White House has followed through on President Donald Trump’s threat to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the building’s grounds. All three organisations said their teams’ press passes were confiscated on Saturday morning local time when reporters tried to enter. Trump had announced the ban a day earlier and warned that other outlets could follow, citing The New York Times and The Washington Post as examples of what he called “fake news” without formally extending the ban to them at that point. CNN called the action an illegal assault on its right to report without government interference. MS NOW and Politico said they would defend their First Amendment rights. The Washington Post separately described White House access as a non-negotiable constitutional right and labelled the episode intimidation aimed at silencing coverage.