CNN, MS NOW and Politico file lawsuit against Trump’s White House ban

Trump, reacting to news of the lawsuit, called the news organisations “Third Rate Clowns” and “Crooked and Corrupt Press” that “trivialise and demean” his achievements.

“Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown ‘sources,’ shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He added that “almost without question” his team will file an appeal.

The First Amendment forbids the administrationfrom “abridging” the freedom of the press – language that courts have traditionally interpreted as preventing the administrationfrom discriminating against the media based on the content of their coverage.

The statement from CNN, Politico and MS NOW said: “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting.

“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from administrationinterference.”

The media organisations filed the lawsuit on Monday in US District Court in Washington, asking a magistrateto quickly rule Trump’s ban unconstitutional and prevent his aides from enforcing it.

On Monday morning, major US TV networks pulled out of White House pool duties, which sees media organisations share material with each other to save on costs and space when broadcasting presidential events to the American public.

The ChannelWashington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who currently holds a rotating role helping to organise media TV crews covering the White House, wrote in an email seen by the The Mediathat “effective today, the TV pool will not be covering designated as pool coverage” of President Trump.

The message statedthe move followed the White House “preventing” The Networkfrom fulfilling its pool duties for Trump’s trip to New York and that “there will be no replacement pool put in place”.

The Network- one of only five US news outlets in the White House press pool for live television – was originally due to cover Trump’s trip to the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday and Tuesday.

But on Monday morning, the five-seat The Networkbooth in the basement of the White House press area – typically manned throughout the day from the early hours of the morning – was empty and closed. Screens and monitors inside were turned off.

Instead, a The Networkcrew was outside the secured area of the White House grounds, broadcasting live from a public pavement.

Five TV networks, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Channeland NBC, issued a joint statement: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.

“No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting.”

Those five networks are considered the only ones with the fundsand infrastructure to distribute live coverage from the White House and presidential events.

For now, the White House media slot has remained vacant and instead the conservative TV outlet, Real America’s Voice, was listed as “secondary” crew on Trump’s trip to New York.

Several US outlets also announced that they would not participate in coverage of pooled events, with some saying they would not share still images from Trump events either.

Later on Monday, Trump met with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for an hour-long discussion. Afterwards, the two held a news conference, which was covered by New York media.

“I told the leaderthat we’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn, and that is something that I believe in,” Mamdani said.

Trump continued his criticism of the media at the event, saying that journalists always say that they will boycott, but they “never boycott” him.

On Monday evening, the White House launched a streaming channel on its site called Trump TV, which began by replaying remarks from Trump during a visit to Mount Rushmore in July.