MS NOW, CNN, Politico seek emergency hearing after White House denies access despite court order

Some journalists with MS NOW, CNN and Politico were barred from the White House on Thursday morning, despite a judge’s overnight ruling ordering the Trump administration to temporarily restore their access.

MS NOW White House reporter Laura Barrón-López and an MS NOW producer were denied access and had their passes confiscated, while another MS NOW producer was granted access. Politico said at least one of their reporters was blocked. CNN said some of its staffers were denied access, but at least one was allowed in.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the Trump administration early Thursday to temporarily restore White House access to journalists from the three national news organizations as litigation on the matter continues.

Reporters for MS NOW, CNN and Politico should all immediately regain access to the White House campus for at least 14 days, Kelly wrote in his order. He granted the motion on due process grounds and suggested in his order that the ban is likely unconstitutional.

MS NOW, CNN and Politico have filed a notice of noncompliance after their reporters were denied access Thursday morning, asking Kelly to set an immediate hearing. The judge ordered the Trump administration to respond by 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

The White House and U.S. Secret Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Barrón-López said her White House hard pass was twice denied when she attempted to scan it at the security entrance this morning. The Secret Service agent on duty told her he was still seeing a “badge disabled” message before he confiscated the pass and Barrón-López had to leave the premises.

“I didn’t get any answer on why they were doing this. There was no White House official around for me to ask why we were being, continued to be denied access despite the judge’s order overnight,” Barrón-López said.

The legal fight was playing out as President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping for a three-day state visit, with Chinese state media allowed onto the White House grounds even as access remained restricted for the three U.S.-based outlets.

Kelly is the same judge who ordered the first Trump administration to temporarily restore then-CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials in a November 2018 ruling. CNN had sued the Trump administration after the White House revoked Acosta’s credentials after a contentious news conference.

That juxtaposition sent “not a good message,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told MS NOW.

After that ruling, the White House sent Acosta a letter indicating it had made a preliminary decision to suspend his hard pass and signaling it was not immediately prepared to back down from the fight. Three days later, Acosta moved to dismiss the case after the White House told him it had agreed to permanently restore his press pass.

Ali Vitali contributed reporting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The post MS NOW, CNN, Politico seek emergency hearing after White House denies access despite court order appeared first on MS NOW.