A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered the White House to readmit CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, granting a preliminary injunction in their lawsuit against President Trump and executive branch officials. According to the Reason article, Judge Timothy Kelly found that the news organizations are likely to succeed on claims that their hard passes were revoked without due process and in retaliation for their reporting, in violation of the Fifth and First Amendments.
The ruling builds on an earlier temporary restraining order, which had been based solely on due process grounds. Now, the court also sided with the plaintiffs on First Amendment claims, concluding that the administration likely retaliated against them for protected speech. The judge noted that President Trump's own comments—suggesting the outlets write "negative news" and should "straighten themselves out"—bolstered the inference that the ban was intended to alter their coverage.
The court distinguished an out-of-circuit case cited by the defense, which had treated selective access as a routine part of journalism. Here, the loss of hard passes was deemed significant enough to chill a reasonable reporter, given that hard passes allow immediate, unescorted access to White House press areas. The judge also cautioned that the decision does not validate concerns about media accuracy or limit the government's ability to protect national security in other contexts.
This article is based on a single source, the Reason summary of the court's opinion, so it does not include responses from the White House or the plaintiffs beyond what that source reports.