President Donald Trump’s ban left 78 journalists with press passes without access as of Sept. 23, according to Politico.
The hearing. U.S. District Judge Kelly said the White House had not followed required procedures before withdrawing the outlets’ access. He questioned how letters sent after reporters lost their press passes could give them advance notice of the rules. CBS News
The government’s case. The Justice Department cited national security and said the decisions to withdraw access were not yet final. It asked Kelly to wait until the outlets could respond. Kelly said he would decide ‘as soon as I can’; he set no ruling date. Politico
What next. The outlets have until Friday, Sept. 25, at 5 p.m. Eastern to contest the decision. The White House’s letters say the loss of access becomes final if the outlets do not respond. That deadline does not end the lawsuit. White House letter
Catch up
On Sept. 18, Trump announced the ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico over their coverage. Reporters were denied entry the next day (Sept. 19). On Sept. 21, the outlets sued. That day, the five-network television pool (networks that share coverage of presidential events) stopped providing that coverage in protest.