Donald Trump’s administration is defying a federal court order to restore White House press credentials to journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, creating an unprecedented constitutional crisis.
White House seized reporters’ press passes and turned away at least two reporters on Thursday, just hours after a court ordered them let back in, marking an extraordinary escalation in the dispute over ‘Fake News’ coverage.
The latest furore comes as Trump welcomed Chinese premier Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng to the White House, hailing the ‘truly great friendship’ between the world leaders.
Trump banned the news outlets last Friday in a fiery social media post accusing them of peddling ‘fake news.’
He was reportedly shown a slate of negative coverage from the outlets by his aide Natalie Harp in the moments before the ban was announced.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order early Thursday morning, effectively forcing the Trump administration to restore access to Politico, CNN and MS NOW, which the president banned last Friday.
Still, a Politico reporter’s credentials were confiscated on Thursday after the ruling allowing re-entry took effect, the outlet reported. An MS NOW reporter also had their credentials taken and was denied access.
The three outlets filed their lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday and the case has rapidly progressed. In solidarity with the banned outlets, major broadcasters like Fox News, NBC, CBS and ABC – known as the TV pool responsible for covering presidential coverage on a rotating basis – have refused to cover the president in response.
ABC News was listed as the TV pool for Thursday’s state visit by China’s president but is refusing to go into any events until the White House gives proof that CNN journalists have been allowed inside, the Guardian reported.
