Three US media organizations announce lawsuit against the Trump administration after being barred from entering the White House
Washington – 21 – 9 (KUNA) – The three U.S. media organizations that President Donald Trump barred from entering the White House on Monday announced that they have filed a lawsuit based on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, seeking to restore their right of access to the White House.
The lawsuit, filed by CNN, MSNBC, and Politico, calls on the court to take “immediate action” to reinstate the access of journalists from these outlets to the White House. It states that “this ban constitutes a direct and egregious assault on the First Amendment and a blatant violation of the most fundamental constitutional principles.”
In a joint statement, the three news organizations said, “This morning, we informed the government that we would file a lawsuit today to protect our rights guaranteed under the First Amendment and to defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”
The statement added that “the White House revoked our journalists’ press credentials without prior notice or adherence to established procedures, citing its disagreement with our news coverage,” warning that “allowing this to go unchallenged threatens press freedom and the public’s right to an independent press free from government interference.”
President Trump announced the ban last Friday, accusing the outlets of publishing “fictional stories or lies” about his administration and threatening to take similar action against other media organizations.
In a post on his Truth Social platform following the announcement of the lawsuit, Trump stated that the White House “is not attacking free press. It is attacking fake news.” He described the phenomenon as “corrupt and intentional, having spread like cancer throughout the United States on a massive scale,” asserting that it has “completely gotten out of control” and poses a “threat” to U.S. national security.
(End) A.M.M. / M.M.J.
