A federal judge on Thursday mandated that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico immediately regain White House access for journalists for up to two weeks while further litigation continues. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order in CNN, Inc. v. Trump, ruling the administration must restore the media organizations’ press credentials.
The decision follows Ted Boutrous Jr., lead counsel for the outlets, filing a complaint Thursday morning that reporters were denied entry and requested an immediate hearing on the administration’s alleged non-compliance with Kelly’s order. The judge required the Trump administration to respond by 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.
A Secret Service agent told Politico reporter Laura Barrón-López that her credentials had been “still being disabled” after Thursday morning, despite the court order. CNN reported multiple denials of access for staff, including photojournalist Betsy Klein and another reporter whose credentials were revoked Saturday. A CNN producer was able to enter White House grounds using their pass.
Kelly’s ruling, issued by a Trump-appointed judge nominated in 2017, rejected the Justice Department’s request to delay reinstating the hard passes for 48 hours. The temporary restraining order remains effective for 14 days and is generally unappealable. Kelly stated the record lacked “factual support” for claims that revoking the outlets’ access protected national security.
The administration had banned the outlets from White House facilities effective September 18, citing what President Trump called “cumulative stories” by the organizations. In his ruling, Kelly confirmed the court declined to stay the order’s entry date.