White House Denies Reporters Entry Despite Court Order Restoring Access

Reporters from Politico and MS NOW were denied access to the White House on Thursday morning, even after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore credentials for three news organizations that had been barred earlier in the week.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order on Thursday, requiring the White House to restore access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. Kelly stated that the outlets were likely to succeed in their claim that the administration violated constitutional due process protections by revoking their credentials.

Later that day, Politico reported that Secret Service agents stopped one of its journalists and confiscated their credential. MS NOW also reported that one of its reporters was denied entry. The situation for CNN reporters was unclear as of Thursday morning.

The dispute started when Trump announced that the three outlets would no longer be allowed on White House grounds, accusing them of publishing false information. The organizations responded by suing, arguing that the administration’s actions were unconstitutional retaliation for their reporting.

Kelly’s ruling is temporary and does not resolve the underlying lawsuit. It restores access for now and blocks the administration from enforcing the ban for 14 days. Legal experts, according to Reuters, have questioned whether excluding credentialed journalists for unfavorable coverage would withstand First Amendment scrutiny.