Trump’s media ban takes effect — reporters have passes seized at the door

CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists have badges disabled or confiscated after Trump ordered the outlets barred from the White House

The doors really did close

Donald Trump's latest battle with the US media moved from words to reality on Saturday when reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were turned away from the White House.

The journalists arrived for work the morning after Trump announced that the three organisations were being banned from the White House, accusing them of publishing what he called “fake news”.

CNN reporter Betsy Klein said a Secret Service agent told her that her White House badge had been deactivated.

MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner said an officer told her that her badge had been disabled and asked her to hand it over.

“He said it was above him,” Gardner reported.

A photographer from MS NOW also had their credentials confiscated.

Politico's White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett was subsequently denied entry and had her pass confiscated.

‘Others to come’

Trump has given no specific examples of stories that triggered the ban.

Instead, he said the decision was based on what he described as a pattern of reporting over several years.

And he has suggested that the list could grow.

Asked about other outlets, Trump specifically mentioned The New York Times and The Washington Post as examples of what he considers “fake news”, although he did not announce that either organisation had been banned.

The legal fight begins

The three affected organisations have all indicated that they could challenge the decision.

CNN said it had a constitutional right to report without government interference.

MS NOW said it intended to take whatever steps were necessary to defend its First Amendment rights, while Politico said it would “vigorously defend” its journalists.

The White House Correspondents' Association has also called for the journalists' access to be restored.

Its president, Fox News journalist Jacqui Heinrich, warned that allowing the government to exclude an outlet because officials dislike its coverage could potentially be used against other news organisations.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has likewise said it expects the ban to face a serious constitutional challenge.

A much bigger question

The argument now goes beyond CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

The central issue is whether a White House can selectively exclude journalists because the president believes their reporting is unfair or false.

Trump's supporters can point to his long-running complaint that some media organisations deliberately misrepresent his administration.

The affected outlets and press-freedom groups argue that government access cannot be conditioned on favourable coverage.

That dispute is now likely to move from the White House press room into the courts.

For the three banned organisations, Saturday morning provided a very clear answer to the question that was still hanging in the air on Friday.

**The ban wasn't just a Trump announcement.

The badges actually stopped working.**

SOURCE

I think MS Now and Politico have been included to provide cover for wanting to exclude Kaitlan Collins...........she seems to be the only one asks sensible, searching questions.

I dread to think how Trump would (wouldn't) cope with the British press.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by Will B Good

Illegal act. The Trump administration has no understanding of the US Constitution. I expect that an injunction will be issued soon. I am surprised that the other news organizations have not walked out in protest. They did it last time Trump tried to block a reporter.

28 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

Illegal act. The Trump administration has no understanding of the US Constitution. I expect that an injunction will be issued soon. I am surprised that the other news organizations have not walked out in protest. They did it last time Trump tried to block a reporter.

He WILL lose this case, though not entirely. He can legally block any of the press he wants from some parts of the White House (Oval Office is one example). It HAS created just one more distraction to keep people from talking about the Epstein files, though that's likely to change after November.

The odds are against a favorable outcome of such a stupid act.

No difficult questions for Trump ,from fake news ,just have

the likes of Newsmax, Faux news, OAN ,you know Trumps

popaganda news outlets, feeding him easy questions,with

no follow ups ,but it's too late for him now ,people can see

the Emperor has no clothes ,he only tells lies ,hes destroyed

the GOP and will destroy MAGA ,everything Trump touches dies.

regards worgordie

getting more like putin every day…

No free speech/ questions in the White House.

If the media print fake news/ lies, then Trump can sue them. No need to ban them from the premises.

I have always believed that the Constitution was aimed at preventing the government from blocking freedom of speech. Individuals remain free to block the media from private or corporate press conferences but not the government and its branches. Tyrannical governments don't like tough questions. Tyrannical governments want the media to be poodles.

I remember being interviewed once. At the end, I privately expressed surprise that the questions easy to answer and asked why. I was told (by the journalist) that it was easy to see that I did not lie or hide facts, so there was no reason to play hardball.

Maybe Trump could learn that.

The AI slop satire gets better.

freedom of speech, freedom of press... the dictator is just copying what his master does in Russia, it's a copy cat, such type of actions are only used by Erdogan, Trump, Putin, Xi, North Korea, some central and South America countries and some African countries as well, where there is a dictator there is NO freedom of anything