Judge Orders White House to Restore Access to Banned News Outlets
Journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were re-admitted to the White House on Thursday afternoon after a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s press ban. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a 14-day temporary restraining order requiring the administration to immediately restore hard-pass access for the three news organizations while their joint constitutional lawsuit moves forward.
The decision resolves a high-stakes standoff between executive leadership and national news outlets, compelling Secret Service personnel to reinstate security credentials that had been abruptly revoked over the weekend.
In an eight-page ruling, Judge Kelly wrote that the media organizations demonstrated a high likelihood of success on their Fifth Amendment claims, concluding that the White House deprived journalists of constitutionally protected access without prior notice or a formal opportunity to be heard.
According to an official news report published by The Guardian, the court rejected Department of Justice arguments that national security concerns justified revoking the credentials, noting that public statements from President Donald Trump explicitly linked the ban to critical news coverage rather than security threats. The judge further observed that formal letters sent by the administration after the ban took effect failed to articulate clear standards of conduct or satisfy basic due process guarantees established under federal precedent.
Despite the early morning court directive, journalists faced brief delays entering executive grounds on Thursday when Secret Service officers initially turned away reporters and confiscated remaining credentials. Plaintiffs’ attorneys immediately alerted the court, describing the delays as continued non-compliance before White House security officials fully implemented the judicial order later in the day.
Lead attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. praised the decision as a critical defense of press freedom and the rule of law, while the court scheduled expedited proceedings to consider a preliminary injunction before the temporary restraining order expires in two weeks.
