Corporate Media Sues Over White House Ban After Denying Free Speech To Others

Three corporate news outlets banished from the White House asked a federal court Monday to shield them from President Trump's access ban — suddenly discovering the First Amendment matters now that they're the ones locked out.

CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a 42-page motion asking U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the administration's Sept. 19 ban until the case is resolved. A temporary restraining order Kelly issued last week expires Oct. 8. The outlets argue the ban is unconstitutional retaliation for reporting the president dislikes. On the legal merits, they have a point. On the hypocrisy, they have no defense.

The White House has continued implementing its ban inconsistently even under the court's order, the filing states, including barring CNN from its designated broadcast pool rotation duties on Sept. 26. The pool system — consisting of CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox — shares coverage responsibilities so the entire press corps gets footage and quotes from events with limited space.

"The White House's words and actions leave little doubt that it will immediately reinstitute a complete ban of CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO if allowed the opportunity," the outlets' lawyers wrote.

Attorney General Todd Blanche made clear the administration isn't backing down. "When it comes to the White House, it is the people's house," Blanche said on ABC Sunday. "It is a privilege, and not a right, to be there."

The outlets' lead attorney, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., called the ban "a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process" and "retaliation and viewpoint discrimination, pure and simple." CBS News reported that Judge Kelly signaled skepticism of the ban at last week's hearing, saying the outlets weren't given due process before access was cut.

Boutrous is right on the law. Government retaliation against disfavored speech violates the First Amendment. Access to the people's house shouldn't depend on whether the president likes your coverage. But the same corporate press now crying constitutional foul spent years cheering as Big Tech deplatformed independent journalists, dissenting voices, and anyone who questioned establishment narratives. Viewpoint discrimination was a feature, not a bug, when the targets were nobodies without press badges.