President Again Cuts Access for News Organizations Whose Reporting He Dislikes. This Time Makes Three.

Can any President bar from the White House journalists and news organizations who publish stories he finds objectionable? Ample legal authority—grounded in the Constitution–say no.

Journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were denied entry to the White House Saturday after President Trump announced Friday he would keep them out. He had previously accused them on Truth Social of writing “FICTION” and “LIES” about his administration.

This is at least a third attempt by this administration to exclude reporters whose work he disfavors.

In 2018, the President was enjoined from excluding reporter Jim Acosta, then with CNN. A district court ruled that exclusion violated the constitutional right to due process.

Last year, the administration tried to limit access to the Associated Press when it refused to include in its style manual’s references to the “Gulf of America.” During the course of ongoing litigation, the D.C. Court of Appeals observed, “When the White House opens its facilities to the press generally, as it does in the Brady Briefing Room, it cannot exclude journalists based on viewpoint.” For now, the court allowed a partial ban, a result that may change when the court decides the case on the merits.

Clearly established law cited by the courts in these past decisions would seem to forbid this week’s banning of CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House. No court has permitted viewpoint discrimination to allow wholesale exclusion of news organizations from the White House, to our knowledge.

(Likewise, a federal judge in Washington has blocked a Pentagon effort to interfere with how and what journalists report about the U.S. military in ongoing litigation brought by The New York Times.)

This isn’t the first administration tempted to use press access to reign in journalists deemed unfriendly. In 2009, President Barrack Obama announced he would block Fox News from a multi-network press pool set up for an administration interview, saying Fox performed more like a political organization than a news outlet. He backed down in the face of protests from other news organizations.

Cutting out disfavored news organizations from the access granted favored journalists based on their coverage isn’t far removed from silencing them for doing their constitutionally-protected jobs. It looks a lot like an attempt to cower journalists into writing only what officials want.

Any elected official’s attempt to shut out or silence reporters who challenge their views, statements or policies is a direct threat to the Constitution. It undermines every citizen’s rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

These principles of freedom distinguish American society and our system of government from the authoritarian regimes of Iran, China, and Russia. No American can remain silent when our Constitution is threatened in this way.