The White House has once again limited the journalistic work of the American network CNN by preventing its special envoys from boarding the presidential plane 'Air Force One', despite the fact that, according to the established rotating schedule, it was their turn to occupy that spot within the press group ('pool') that usually accompanies Donald Trump on his travels. According to the complaint from the channel itself, this decision has frustrated its ability to provide complete coverage of the president's official agenda during his recent visit to Texas.
The new ban on the presidential plane comes just a few days before the expiration of the temporary order issued last week by federal judge Tim Kelly, which provisionally ordered the reactivation of press credentials withdrawn by the Presidency from journalists of CNN, MS NOW, and 'Politico'.
The media's lawyers have asked the court to extend this judicial protection before the set deadline expires, and have warned that, if the measure is not expanded, they will immediately go to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, understanding that the ban directly violates the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
In response to the litigation, the aforementioned media recalls that the Trump Administration maintains that the judge's order only requires restoring general access to the White House complex, but that, in its view, it does not force the presence of those reporters at restricted events in the Oval Office nor guarantee seats for them on official trips aboard 'Air Force One'.
On the contrary, CNN's lawyer, Ted Boutrous, has reminded that the network has been part of that press group on the presidential plane for 45 years and has argued that this access is essential to ensure accountability, especially when the president often takes advantage of air travel to answer questions from correspondents.
Furthermore, the channel's legal representatives plan to incorporate into the judicial proceedings Trump's recent statements in an interview with 'Time' magazine, in which he admitted to being unaware of the details of the order issued by Kelly and criticized journalists for only asking him "negative" questions about the economy or the war with Iran.
For the legal team of the excluded media, these words clearly demonstrate that the marginalization of their reporters does not respond to national security reasons, but rather constitutes a direct retaliation from the Executive for the editorial line and the critical information regarding the president's management.