Reuters reports that the pool, which CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC jointly pay for and take turns providing video coverage of the president’s events, started working again after federal judge Timothy Kelly ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
Trump banned these three outlets from the White House on September 18, after which the other networks refused to replace CNN in the pool. Because of this, the first two days of Xi Jinping’s visit went without television coverage.
On Friday, the pool showed Xi’s arrival at the White House, where Trump hosted the Chinese leader for tea, and then their trip to the U.S. National Archives, where the Constitution is kept. During the meeting, Trump did not answer journalists’ questions about China, Iran, or his own media ban, and later thanked the press for its “very fair” coverage.
Kelly concluded that the ban likely violates the Constitution, but his ruling is temporary, and the main part of the three outlets’ lawsuit has not yet been heard. The three media organizations argue that the ban violates First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, as well as the right to due process.
On the morning of September 24, Secret Service personnel prevented several CNN, MS NOW, and Politico journalists from entering the White House, although the court order had already been issued, but a few hours later all representatives of these outlets were still allowed onto the residence grounds. Later, CNN and MS NOW said that their correspondents and producers were not allowed to cover Trump and Xi Jinping’s state lunch, after which the other networks continued the boycott, the pool again did not film the event, and the live broadcast was shown only on the White House YouTube channel.
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