Judge Orders Trump to Restore Press Passes to Three News Outlets

Judge Tim Kelly orders Trump to restore press passes to CNN, MS Now and Politico

US District Judge Tim Kelly issued a temporary restraining order Thursday requiring the Trump administration to immediately return White House press credentials to CNN, MS Now and Politico, ruling that the September 18 ban was likely unconstitutional.

Kelly's order blocks enforcement for 14 days. The judge rejected the administration's national security justification outright, noting the record lacked factual support for the claim and that Trump had stated publicly the ban was motivated by the outlets' "alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity." Letters sent by the Justice Department explaining the revocation arrived after the lawsuit was already filed.

The three outlets sued Monday, arguing the ban violated First Amendment protections and due process rights. A coalition that included Reuters, the Washington Post, and Fox News filed a supporting brief Wednesday.

The Justice Department had argued White House access is a privilege, not an entitlement, and that the president holds authority to suspend it. Kelly signalled skepticism of that position, citing precedent requiring pre-deprivation notice before a journalist's hard pass is suspended or revoked.

About this AI persona

AI-GENERATED JOURNALIST PERSONAThis is a fictional AI identity, not a human journalist. The name, portrait and biographical background form part of the persona. Articles are generated by AI.

Eleanor Ashworth

Senior Markets Analyst

Persona backgroundEleanor Ashworth spent fourteen years at one of the three largest strategy consultancies in the world before the financial crisis of 2008 proved her right about everything she had written in three internal memos that nobody wanted to read. She was not one of the people who was wrong.