Judge Orders White House to Restore Credentials for CNN, MS NOW, Politico

By Sandra Rhodes (/journals/sandra-rhodes)

A federal judge has ruled the White House is to restore press credentials for reporters at CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

The ruling came down early Thursday morning and states President Donald Trump’s ban likely violated their constitutional due process rights.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly handed down the ruling after holding an emergency hearing on the outlets’ lawsuit.  His ruling lasts for two weeks.

The outlets sued after being denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday.

The administration sent letters pointing to national security concerns. The letters weren’t sent until afterward.

“Defendants do not dispute that Plaintiffs did not receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before their hard passes were revoked,” wrote Kelly, a Trump appointee.

This is reminiscent of 2018 when then-CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta’s hard pass was revoked.

In both cases, the judge found that he’s bound by a 1977 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the Fifth Amendment’s procedural due process protections kick in when the White House arbitrarily denies a press credential to reporters.

The Trump administration had told the judge the decision should be overturned.

“Maybe—but this Court is bound by D.C. Circuit precedent, full stop,” Kelly wrote.

Trump said previously he would appeal.

“This is a judge who’s not a particularly fair judge,” the president said earlier this week.

Theodore Boutrous, an attorney for the outlets, lauded the decision.

“This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law. We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action,” Boutrous said in a statement.