US judge blocks Trump ban of CNN, MS NOW, Politico from White House, orders him to restore access

A judge has ordered President Trump to restore White House access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico after he banned the media outlets from the premises. A federal judge on Thursday said US President Donald Trump must lift his ban on journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico accessing the White House. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the news organizations contesting the ban, issued on September 18. In his order, District Judge Tim Kelly said the ban was likely unconstitutional. Kelly said his order must remain in place for 14 days. "This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law," Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the outlets, said in a statement emailed to the AP news agency. "We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action." Kelly rejected the government's claim that national security concerns promoted the ban. "The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs' hard passes will ​in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation ​proceeds," he said. He pointed out that Trump himself had initially cited only an "alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity" in reporting by the outlets as the reason for the ban.

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