WASHINGTON: The White House media ban announced by President Donald Trump took effect Saturday as reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied entry to the presidential complex.
CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein said officials deactivated her credential and took it at a security checkpoint. Meanwhile, MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner said an officer told her that officials had disabled her badge.
Later, officials also denied entry to Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett. The Associated Press independently confirmed that journalists from all three organisations encountered access restrictions Saturday.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico said they would defend their journalists’ First Amendment rights. The organisations described the restrictions as unlawful, while Trump has argued that outlets he considers dishonest should not receive White House access.
Read: Trump White House Media Ban Targets CNN, MS NOW, Politico
Trump announced the restrictions Friday, accusing the three organisations of publishing what he calls “fake news.” At the time, he did not provide detailed enforcement procedures, and journalists from the three outlets remained on White House grounds through Friday evening.
Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said Friday that excluding journalists because officials object to their reporting would constitute viewpoint discrimination. He described such a ban as unconstitutional.
The latest denials turn the White House media ban from an announced policy into an active access restriction. Any court challenge would determine the legal status of the new exclusions; courts have not yet issued a final ruling on this specific ban.
