The Justice Department is seeking a reinstatement of President Donald Trump’s White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico, arguing their news coverage endangered national security.
District judge Timothy Kelly had temporarily rescinded a previous ban on the grounds that the administration did not follow due process to issue advance notice to the affected media organisations before the ban.
He ordered that the ban be lifted for two weeks which would end next week Thursday. The judge is mulling an extension of the reprieve but the Justice Department said the continued access of CNN, MS Now and Politico would only put national security at risk.
The Justice Department further argued that the newspapers failed to file any response or appeal to the ban during the stipulated period, describing the failure to respond as making the ban final.
“Plaintiffs declined to submit any response, request any extension, or otherwise defend their conduct. Accordingly, at 5:00 p.m. last Friday, the President’s preliminary decision to revoke Plaintiffs’ continued access to the White House, though temporarily enjoined from continuing in effect, became final,” they wrote in the filing.
The newspapers prayed the court for a preliminary objection that will grant them access to the White House during the period of litigation.
They sought to retain their access to the White House in the time it takes to challenge the ban to claim the administration violated their First Amendment rights.
“The White House’s filing tonight shows the President’s ‘ban on the free press’ is indefensible. The law is absolutely clear. The harm to our clients, the First Amendment, and the public as a whole is profound. It is critical that the White House is enjoined to keep this unconstitutional ban on the free press out of commission,” said Theodore Boutrous, attorney for CNN, MS NOW and Politico.