Washington DC: The Donald Trump administration on Tuesday defended its decision to bar journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. The Justice Department said that the media houses can be barred from the White House at the US President’s will.
The department, in a court filing, argued that “access to the White House is a privilege, not a right,” reported CNN. The filing further contended that Trump has the authority to restrict access to private sections of the White House to safeguard sensitive national security information.
“At the very least, the Government may control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office, even for viewpoint-discriminatory reasons,” the Justice Department wrote in its filing, as reported by CNN.
“The President has found that Plaintiffs have engaged in a number of reporting incidents that have threatened national security. Such reporting directly raises national security concerns,” it added.
The Justice Department’s court filing came a day ahead of an emergency hearing before federal judge Timothy Kelly in Washington, DC. The petitioners, CNN, MS NOW and Politico, are demanding for the immediate restoration of their media access.
Reasons For Banning These Media Outlets:
The latest court filings also include letters sent to the three media organisations on Tuesday, outlining the reasons cited by the President for imposing the access ban. These letters cite several stories published by the banned media outlets.
The letter addressed to CNN referred to the network’s report about Trump’s plans for a “top secret” bunker beneath the East Wing ballroom under construction, along with several of its reports on the Iran war.
The letter to MS NOW slammed the media house for its coverage of the Iran war. As per a CNN report citing these letters, Politico’s entry was banned due to its reporting on Iran, the ballroom and Russia sanctions.
About The Dispute:
The dispute began last week when Trump barred journalists from the three outlets from entering the White House grounds. CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to restore their access, arguing that the restrictions violate their First Amendment rights.
At the same time, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC suspended their pooled television coverage of Trump after the White House prevented CNN from carrying out its scheduled role as pool representative during his trip to the United Nations General Assembly.
Trump’s Clarification:
Trump strongly defended the decision in multiple Truth Social posts, rejecting the allegations that the White House was attacking the free press.
“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” Trump wrote. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”
He described the coverage from the three outlets as “corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control,” and said it was “a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”
Trump also argued that the media organizations should not automatically receive access to the White House.