Trump bans journalists from Politico, CNN and MS NOW from the White House

MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner and a photographer tried to enter the White House grounds on Saturday morning, but their passes did not work, after which an employee took the badges. Gardner said the officer told her that her pass had been deactivated and said the decision came from “above him”, while the MS NOW producer’s badge continued to work.

CNN journalist Betsy Klein said that a U.S. Secret Service employee told her the pass had been deactivated. Later, Politico said that its reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry, and the Secret Service revoked her pass.

On Friday, Trump said he was banning these three media outlets from the White House, accusing them of publishing “fabrication or lies” about his administration. Later he called these publications “a buildup of stories over the past several years” and added that other outlets could join the ban.

When asked whom he meant, Trump named, in particular, The New York Times and The Washington Post as “fake news”. All three newsrooms said the decision violates their rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and their right to work freely without government interference.

MS NOW said the White House belongs to the American people, and the decisions made inside it are paid for by taxpayers. The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) demanded that access be restored immediately, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said the ban directly contradicts the Constitution and expressed hope that the courts would quickly overturn it.

Sources

• BBC News, article about the ban
• Article: bbc.co.uk