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CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump over White House ban; TV pool suspends coverage

Political Guyentist · September 22, 20265 min read

POLITICO

The suit names Trump, chief of staff Susie Wiles and two other advisers, and a hearing on the outlets' emergency request to block the ban is set for Wednesday, Sept. 23.

The suit. CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration on Monday, Sept. 21 in federal district court in Washington, asking a judge to declare the administration's ban on their White House reporters unconstitutional and to order their access restored. The suit names four defendants: Trump, chief of staff Susie Wiles and two other top advisers. The complaint alleges First Amendment retaliation and viewpoint discrimination plus a Fifth Amendment due-process violation. The outlets are represented by Theodore Boutrous Jr. of Gibson Dunn.

The badges. Secret Service officers took the reporters' badges at the gate on Saturday, Sept. 19, a day after Trump announced the ban on Truth Social. MS NOW's Akayla Gardner said the officer told her only that her badge was disabled and that the decision was "above him."

The pool. Hours later the White House television pool — the five networks, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC, that take turns supplying live footage to everyone else — suspended its coverage. Trump was inaudible at a Monday press conference carried only on White House-supplied video with no usable audio, and C-SPAN skipped a helipad event for lack of a feed. CNN had been scheduled to run Monday's pool camera but was left off the rotation the White House published Sunday, Sept. 20.

“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer.”Donald Trump, on Truth Social ([TS]Same judge, Timothy Kelly, drew this case — and he gave CNN a TRO in three days last time.)

What next. Judge Timothy Kelly, who ruled for CNN's Jim Acosta in 2018, hears the emergency motion Wednesday, Sept. 23.

How we got herethe story so far
  • Fri., Sept. 18 — Trump announced on Truth Social that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would lose White House access, naming no single story and citing "cumulative stories over the last two years."
  • Sat., Sept. 19 — Secret Service officers turned the three outlets' reporters away at the gate and confiscated their hard passes; all three said they would sue.
What the last three credential fights actually wonAcosta, 2018: pass restored 12 days after it was pulled, with no appeal3 details
  • Acosta, 2018: pass restored 12 days after it was pulled, with no appeal
  • AP, 2025: Judge Trevor McFadden's injunction came 46 days after filing; the D.C. Circuit stayed most of it on June 6, leaving it only for the East Room
  • Sherrill v. Knight, 1977: won reporters notice and written reasons, not a press pass

What we’re less sure of5 of 11 claims

Red take

CNN, MS NOW and Politico are asking Judge Timothy Kelly to order the executive branch to admit specific journalists to the president's residence — a power no court should hold over any president, of either party. Concede the uncomfortable part: Trump cited 'cumulative stories over the last two years' and named no single one, and retaliation for coverage is genuinely unlawful. But Jim Acosta won in 2018 on process, not on a property right in a badge, and the fix there was notice and a hearing. Being left off the rotation the White House published Sunday costs these outlets proximity, not publication. Nothing they printed was stopped.

Blue take

There is no constitutional right to a particular chair in the briefing room, and a president may reshuffle the pool. But Secret Service officers confiscated badges at the gate on Saturday, Sept. 19, one day after a Truth Social post that named no single story — that is not scheduling, that is a penalty for coverage, and the Constitution bars the government from rationing access by viewpoint. The cost is not CNN's convenience. With the five-network pool suspended, Trump was inaudible Monday and C-SPAN lost a helipad event entirely. Judge Timothy Kelly restored Jim Acosta's pass in 2018; the outlets ask him Wednesday, Sept. 23 to do it again.

Related reading

RELATEDWhite House says press access is a privilege, not a right

The administration's release argues the First Amendment protects the right to publish but does not entitle an outlet to a hard pass, a briefing room seat or a pool slot. It lists prior Democratic-era restrictions, cites no court case, and says a 2023 credentialing change cut off more than 440 reporters.

RELATED 2Vance compares Politico's White House access to seating Breitbart under Obama

Vance said the three outlets were not banned from reporting, only from special access — the administration's core answer to the viewpoint-discrimination claim. He cited a figure that 92% of their Trump coverage is negative.