Judge Rules Associated Press Should Not Be Excluded From Press Pool

U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden ruled Tuesday that Associated Press reporters and photographers cannot be barred from press pools, including in the Oval Office, Air Force One and other secure spaces.

In February, the AP sued three members of the Trump administration after their press access was revoked over the outlet’s refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the now renamed Gulf of America. In a filing from McFadden, the judge ordered that the outlet’s “grief” against Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich will be granted.

“The Court does not order the Government to grant the AP permanent access to the Oval Office, the East Room, or any other media event,” the filing stated. “It does not bestow special treatment upon the AP. Indeed, the AP is not necessarily entitled to the ‘first in line every time’ permanent press pool access it enjoyed under the WHCA . But it cannot be treated worse than its peer wire services either.”

“The Court merely declares that the AP’s exclusion has been contrary to the First Amendment, and it enjoins the Government from continuing down that unlawful path,” the filing said.

In the AP’s lawsuit against the three members of Trump’s administration, the outlet alleged that the administration is violating both the First and Fifth Amendments and requested that the White House “immediately cease its retaliatory actions against the AP.”

Trump announced the AP’s official removal on Feb. 18, telling reporters that the administration would be withholding their access until “such time that they agree that it’s the Gulf of America.”

Within McFadden’s ruling, the judge said that the government “fails to fully engage with forum analysis and retaliation case law,” attempting to “sidestep” the outlet by refusing to grapple “with the implication of these doctrines.”