A federal judge in the United States has ordered this Thursday the Administration of Donald Trump to restore access to the White House for journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, after the president prohibited the entry of the three media. Judge Timothy Kelly considers that the veto is probably unconstitutional and has ordered that the journalists' credentials be restored immediately.
Kelly's decision is temporary and occurs within the procedure initiated by the three media against the Administration. The resolution comes a day after a hearing in which the magistrate questioned whether the White House had followed the procedure established by previous court decisions to revoke access to journalists.
During the hearing on Wednesday, Kelly pointed out that the precedents of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals establish certain due process guarantees when the White House intends to revoke a journalist's access. The magistrate considered that those requirements did not seem to have been met in this case.
The Department of Justice had sent the three media letters informing them of the withdrawal of their accreditations and reproaching them, among other issues, for having disseminated information that the Administration considers false about national security and for having published sensitive or classified information. The judge questioned whether those communications arrived after the passes had already been revoked.
The Government's lawyers argued before the court that access to the White House grounds is a privilege and not a constitutional right. They also defended that the president must have the ability to act immediately when he considers that there are issues related to national security.
The veto had also altered presidential coverage
The exclusion of CNN had consequences on the joint television coverage system of the White House. The network was part, along with ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News, of the group of media that takes turns covering presidential trips and events and then distributing the images among other organizations.
The other four members temporarily suspended the operation of that device after CNN was removed from the coverage of Trump's trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. The system provides images of presidential activities to media that cannot deploy their own teams.
Kelly's resolution does not end the litigation. The Administration must now comply with the order to restore access while the judicial process regarding the legality of the ban continues. Trump had said on Tuesday that he would "probably" allow the return of the media if the courts ruled against his decision.