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CNN, MS NOW and Politico have announced a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and three senior administration officials after their journalists were denied access to the White House.
The three news organizations said Monday they were seeking immediate court action to restore access for reporters whose credentials were revoked after Trump announced a ban against the outlets. The reporters were turned away from the White House complex on Saturday, with their credentials confiscated or disabled.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The organizations are asking a judge to block enforcement of the ban and restore their reporters' access.
In a joint statement, CNN, MS NOW and Politico said they were seeking to protect their First Amendment rights and the principle that government officials should not determine what news organizations report or publish.
They argued that their journalists' credentials were revoked without notice or process because the administration objected to their reporting.
Trump defends the ban
Trump announced Friday that reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, citing what he described as “FAKE NEWS” and unfavorable coverage.
During an Oval Office appearance, Trump said the decision followed what he characterized as a pattern of negative reporting over several years.
Trump later responded to the lawsuit on social media, saying the White House was not attacking the free press but was acting against what he called “FAKE NEWS.” He also described the outlets as a threat to national security.
The White House had not immediately responded to requests for comment when the lawsuit announcement was reported by The Associated Press.
Reporters denied entry
The dispute escalated on Saturday when White House reporters from the three organizations attempted to enter the complex.
CNN's Betsy Klein, MS NOW's Akayla Gardner and Politico's Cheyenne Haslett were denied entry, with their press credentials disabled or confiscated.
The organizations said the restrictions were already affecting their ability to cover the Trump administration and could have broader implications for news organizations seeking access to government officials.
Their lawsuit argues that the administration violated both First Amendment protections and due-process rights by revoking the credentials without notice.
White House access and the courts
The legal dispute comes against a backdrop of previous court battles over White House press access.
During Trump's first term, CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's White House credential was temporarily suspended in 2018. A federal judge ordered the credential restored, citing concerns about the process used to suspend it.
A similar dispute involving journalist Brian Karem also led a federal judge to order the White House to return his credential.
More recently, Trump barred Associated Press journalists from certain White House events after the news agency declined to adopt the administration's preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico. Litigation over that dispute has produced differing court rulings, including a 2025 D.C. Circuit decision concerning access to restricted presidential spaces.
The legal question in the latest case includes how constitutional protections governing press access apply when the White House restricts journalists because of the content or viewpoint of their reporting.
A longstanding D.C. Circuit precedent involving The Nation reporter Robert Sherrill held that journalists could not be denied White House access arbitrarily or because of their reporting's content.
The new lawsuit will now place the dispute before a federal court, where judges will determine how those legal principles apply to the Trump administration's latest restrictions.