White House Press Ban on CNN, Politico, MS Now Enters Day 3

Vacant White House booths mark network standstill as Trump's "fake news" ban on CNN, MS NOW, Politico continues for third day

By By Reena Bhardwaj, Washington, DC, September 21

Correspondents from the three outlets were again seen reporting from a location just outside the White House perimeter, as their usual studio tents on the grounds remained shut.

The restrictions also disrupted the White House press pool, a rotating arrangement in which a small group of reporters covers the president on behalf of the wider media and shares their notes with other outlets.

CNN, whose turn it was in the rotation, was dropped from covering the president's trip to New York.

In a statement, the pool comprising the five major US television networks said no other network would step in to cover the assignment in CNN's place, in an apparent show of solidarity over the exclusion.

Trump on Friday said he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the outlets of what he described as "fake news."

CNN reported that the decision of White House television pool to suspend coverage of President Donald Trump's pool-designated events was communicated in an email from Bryan Boughton, the Fox News Washington bureau chief who currently chairs the television pool.

Under a longstanding agreement, five major networks rotate filming duties to provide shared video footage to global news organisations, local television stations, and newspapers.

"This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties," Boughton wrote to other pool subscribers, as reported by CNN. "There will be no replacement pool put in place."

According to CNN, the operational pause directly halts the shared coverage model that media outlets worldwide rely on for presidential events.

"This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President," Boughton wrote in the email.

CNN further reported that the suspension applies specifically to presidential events, while standard coverage of other government functions remains unaffected.

All other TV pool coverage "will continue as normal, including Congress, VIPs, and selected events in Washington and around the country," Boughton added.

Major news networks, including members of the White House television pool, also issued a joint statement condemning the Trump administration's credential revocations, warning that no government has the right to block press access over critical reporting.

While CNN is among the outlets pursuing legal action, fellow pool members, including ABC News, CBS News, Fox News Media, and NBC News, joined the collective statement to defend press access and protest administrative bans targeting news organisations.

"The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting," the joint statement from the networks read.

The show of solidarity from major broadcast and cable networks comes after CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO launched a First Amendment lawsuit against the White House following the sudden revocation of press credentials for their journalists.

The news outlets, calling the action a threat to press freedom, said that the action was taken to free independent journalism from "government interference."

"Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting," the organisations stated. "Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference."

CNN has reported that the emergency filing is set for review by a federal judge in the DC District Court, with administration officials potentially facing hearings and legal arguments in the coming days. It has also said it would continue covering the US government despite the restrictions.

Trump banned the three news outlets from the White House, and on Saturday the journalists from the affected organisations were denied access to the White House complex, and some had their press credentials confiscated.

However, Trump defended his decision to bar the three news outlets from the White House, characterising the media access ban as an action against "fake news" rather than an attack on constitutional press freedoms.

Trump's statement, posted on Truth Social, read, "The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America."

In his response to the joint legal challenge filed in the US District Court in Washington, calling the action a threat to press freedom and government interference in independent journalism, Trump strongly rejected allegations and doubled down on his criticism of the news outlets' coverage, instead calling it a "threat to National Security."

"It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW! Thank you for your attention to this matter," Trump added in his post.

The theatre started after Trump, on Friday, said he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the outlets of what he described as "fake news." Trump added that other media organisations could also face restrictions.

"Media Outlets shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow," he added.

The impact of the decision became apparent on Saturday when journalists from the three affected organisations were denied access to the White House complex, and some had their press credentials confiscated.

CNN reporter Betsy Klein said her hard pass failed at a security checkpoint and that a Secret Service agent told her the badge had been deactivated. She said she asked the agent for an explanation but was directed to the White House Press Office. She also said the agent retained her physical press badge.

MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner described a similar incident, saying an officer told her that her badge had been disabled. Gardner said her photographer was also denied entry, although an MS NOW producer was able to enter after scanning a badge that remained functional.

The White House Correspondents' Association also criticised the restrictions, with its president Jacqui Heinrich saying the decision violated the First Amendment.

"Today's action revoking access for journalists from CNN, POLITICO, and MSNOW violates the First Amendment. The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future," the statement read.

The White House has not issued a detailed public explanation for barring the three outlets. The move is likely to renew concerns over press access in Washington, with media watchdogs closely watching how the standoff develops.

— ANI