DOJ tells court White House press access is ‘privilege,’ not a right
A federal judge on Wednesday indicated he was inclined to order the White House to temporarily restore the press credentials of three news organizations — CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) and Politico — that were barred from the complex after President Trump threatened to ban them. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2017, held an emergency hearing in the lawsuit the outlets brought to undo the ban. In his introductory remarks, Kelly told the court it appeared the White House had violated the news organizations’ constitutional right of due process — as set out in previous court decisions — when it abruptly blocked the access of journalists who held permanent credentials to work in the building.
Theodore J. Boutrous, a lawyer representing the three news outlets, said the White House ban took place “without a semblance of due process.” He argued the move violated CNN’s, MS NOW’s and Politico’s First Amendment rights and called it a form of retaliation for their coverage of the president, adding that it was “probably the clearest case in history” of viewpoint discrimination.
In threatening to ban the news outlets on Friday, Trump had told reporters at the White House, “They purposely write negative news, and they do that because they want to try and diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration.”
Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik argued that access to the White House was a “privilege,” not a right, and cited national security concerns as a reason for the continued ban. In its legal filings, the Justice Department included White House letters to the three organizations taking issue with stories on a range of topics — construction of a “top secret” bunker under the White House ballroom, talks with Iran, and whether there were “very bad” vibes at the recent Republican convention in Dallas.
Boutrous pushed back on the national-security justification, asserting that the first mention of national security came only days after the ban was imposed. “I guess the light bulb went off and they all decided ‘Start talking about national security,’” Boutrous said.
Boutrous further contended the news organizations were suffering irreparable harm by being locked out of the White House at a time of war and on the eve of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House. “The constitutional violation is against the public interest,” he said.
Kelly did not rule from the bench and said he would consider both sides and make a decision as soon as possible.