MS NOW, CNN and Politico have alleged that President Donald Trump and White House officials violated their First Amendment rights by banning their journalists from the White House.
The three news organisations filed a lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
They want their press credentials restored immediately. The organisations also want officials blocked from further action against their journalists.
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the organisations said.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
The organisations described the decision as a direct attack on press freedom.
“There could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment,” they alleged.
They also argued that the Constitution protects their press credentials and access to the White House.
“No official can deprive Plaintiffs of those interests on a whim with no notice, no process, and no warning as the President did here.”
The lawsuit names Trump, White House communications director Steven Cheung, Secret Service director Sean Curran and White House chief of staff Susan Wiles as defendants.
The case follows a similar dispute from 2018. Trump’s first administration revoked CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s White House credentials after an incident involving a government staffer.
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