Media outlets banned by President Donald Trump were allowed back on White House grounds Thursday after being denied access earlier in the day, despite a federal judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to reinstate their credentials.
Reporters for MS Now, CNN, and Politico said they were allowed back into the White House property shortly after noon, after the media outlets filed an emergency order requesting a hearing. A ruling by U.S. Judge Timothy Kelly overnight halted the administration’s ban on the outlets for 14 days.
Micah Stopperich, director of White House press operations, said in a court filing that personnel were directed to restore the outlets’ credentials at 7:10 a.m., and the Secret Service reactivated badges around 9:07 a.m. and began looking for the confiscated credentials. Stopperich said the press team delivered the badges to the entry gate for reporters to pick up around 9:55 a.m.
ABC News was listed as the White House TV pool for Thursday, but reportedly suspended its coverage until CNN reporters were permitted access. The kerfuffle comes as Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is in Washington, D.C., for a state visit.
Trump announced he would be banning the three outlets last week, accusing them of publishing “fiction and lies.” On Saturday, the outlets said their press credentials were deactivated and no longer granted access to the White House grounds.
JUDGE ORDERS WHITE HOUSE TO RESTORE MEDIA ACCESS TEMPORARILY FOR BLOCKED OUTLETS
The outlets then filed a lawsuit claiming the ban violated the First Amendment. In the early hours of Thursday morning, Kelly, a Trump appointee, temporarily halted Trump’s ban, calling it unconstitutional. Kelly directed the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the journalists’ press credentials.
Trump had claimed the ban was for national security purposes, but Kelly said he is “skeptical” that was the true intention behind the ban. Kelly noted that Trump’s comments about the ban focused on disagreeing with the coverage itself rather than national security.