UPDATED, with additional statements: President Donald Trump is following through on pledge to ban journalists he doesn’t like from the White House: This morning, CNN and MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, as well as Politico announced that their journalists had been denied access to the White House grounds.
Both networks announced this morning that their journalists were denied access and their White House press badges confiscated. Later, Politico reported that the same thing happened to one of its correspondents, Cheyenne Haslett.
Both the Associated Press and the Washington Post joined The New York Times in issuing statements in support of the banned outlets. (Read them below.)
At 10 a.m. ET, CNN announced it, like MS NOW earlier, had been denied access. The network’s White House correspondent Betsy Klein said she and a photographer attempted to enter the grounds as usual but were not allowed in.
Watch on Deadline
CNN has released the following statement: “Early today, CNN journalists were denied access to the White House grounds. CNN’s mission to report on the U.S. government will continue regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings, or any other attempts to impede our journalism. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right.”
Earlier, in a statement posted on social media today, MS NOW wrote, “Earlier this morning, MS NOW journalists were denied access to the White House grounds. The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars. MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy. We stand firmly behind our anchors, our reporters, and our newsroom. We will continue to report on the President, the administration, and the issues that impact the American people.”
Politico editor in chief Jonathan Greenberger wrote in an email to the newsroom, “We stand by her and all reporters covering the White House. As we said yesterday, we will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association condemned Trump’s action as a violation of the Constitution and called for the administration to restore the banned outlets’ access.
“Today’s action revoking access for journalists from CNN, POLITICO, and MSNOW violates the First Amendment,” said Jacqui Heinrich, WHCA President, in a statement. “The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future. The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably. That’s why courts have repeatedly held that once the White House provides access to journalists, it cannot deny that access arbitrarily or based on the content of their reporting. The WHCA calls on the administration to immediately restore our colleagues’ access.”
Yesterday Trump announced that he intended to ban MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House due to what he claims are “their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
This morning, MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner appeared on screen to detail what happened when she arrived at the White House, as did CNN’s Klein later.
Watch the reports from Gardner and Klein below.
“I showed my badge,” she said, “and then when I was inside where we have magnetometers, I attempted to scan my badge, which we have to do to get into the White House grounds. It did not work. There was a red beeping light, and so the officer asked me to hand over my badge. He said that it was disabled. I asked why I could not get inside. He said it was above him.”
Gardner said an MS NOW photographer also was denied entry and had a badge confiscated, although an MS NOW producer was able to gain White House entry.
Gardner added that MS NOW journalists were permitted on the White House grounds yesterday, and that today’s actions were the first stemming from Trump’s threats.
CNN’s Klein reported her nearly identical experience, with her badge setting off an alarm and being confiscated. She said White House security referred her to the White House press team.
“I asked him if he could provide an explanation as to why it had been deactivated,” Klein said on-air to CNN’s Kasie Hunt. “He said he had no further information. I asked him once more if he had any more details he could share with me, and he said that I should be referred to the White House Press Office.”
She added that CNN reporters would continue reporting on White House business. “We can do our job anywhere,” she said.
In Trump’s first term in 2018, the White House revoked the credentials of Jim Acosta, who was then working for CNN. The network sued, and a federal judge ruled in their favor. The judge, Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump appointee, concluded that Acosta was not granted due process when his hard pass was revoked.
This term, the White House restricted the Associated Press from the press pool, the smaller group of correspondents who are given access to the Oval Office and other areas with limited space. The White House cited the AP’s refusal to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, per Trump’s executive order. The AP sued, and a federal judge ruled that the restriction violated the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, another Trump appointee, wrote, “The Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less.”
The decision is on appeal.
Trump has been clear that his denial of access is over news coverage. He told reporters on Friday, “There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposefully negative stories. If they want to write them, that’s fine, but I do not have to let them into my, into the people’s house.”