CNN, MSNBC, and Politico sue Trump

The three U.S. media outlets barred from entering the White House by President Donald Trump 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 the news website Politico, asks the court to take “immediate action” to reinstate access for journalists from these organizations.

The complaint states that “this ban constitutes a direct assault on the First Amendment and a blatant violation of the most fundamental constitutional principles.” In a joint statement, the three news organizations said, “We notified the government this morning 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 due process, due to its objection to our news coverage,” warning that “leaving this unchallenged threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

President Trump announced the ban last Friday, accusing the outlets of spreading “fictional stories or lies” about his administration and hinting at similar measures against other media organizations.

For his part, Trump posted on his platform, Truth Social, after the lawsuit was filed, stating that the White House “is not attacking the free press. It is attacking fake news.”

He characterized “that phenomenon” as corrupt and intentional, saying it had “spread like cancer across the United States on a wide scale,” and insisted that it had “completely gotten out of control” and poses a “threat” to U.S. national security.