A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore White House press access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico after their reporters’ hard passes were revoked.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued the temporary restraining order early Thursday, ruling that the administration had not provided the news organizations with constitutionally adequate due process before revoking their press credentials.
Kelly also questioned the administration’s assertion that the decision was motivated by national security concerns, saying the record did not support the claim.
“Nothing in the record that predates this suit suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns,” Kelly wrote.
The judge noted that when President Donald Trump announced the ban in a social media post, he accused the outlets of producing “FAKE NEWS” and criticized what he described as their negative reporting. National security was not cited at the time.
The administration later argued that the outlets’ reporting had raised national security concerns. Kelly said subsequent letters sent to the organizations referred to reporting that allegedly “threatened national security and/or spread falsehoods,” making it unclear which justification the administration was relying on.
The case was brought by CNN, MS NOW and Politico after the White House revoked their access. During a hearing Wednesday, their attorney, Ted Boutrous, argued that the administration had violated due process and appeared to have introduced national security concerns only after the lawsuit was filed.
Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik defended the administration’s decision, arguing that the news organizations had endangered national security through their reporting and that the president had the authority to determine who could access the White House.
Kelly, however, found that the administration had failed to provide adequate notice and an opportunity for the reporters to challenge the decision before their credentials were revoked.
“The ‘general rule’ is that ‘individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them’ of a constitutionally protected interest,” Kelly wrote.
The judge also questioned the standards the administration relied upon to justify revoking the press passes. He said there were no relevant, formally established standards in place before the conduct cited by the government as grounds for removing the credentials.
Kelly further criticized the administration’s reference to alleged violations of the “standards of professionalism and decorum” expected of White House press members, describing the language in the September 22 letters as vague.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Boutrous argued that the reports cited by the administration amounted to routine journalism. He also pointed out that only one of the CNN stories referenced by the government had been written by a reporter with White House access.
One report cited by the administration involved plans to rebuild a bunker beneath the White House East Wing. Kelly noted that the story had been published months before CNN reporter Betsy Klein’s press credentials were renewed.
The judge concluded that the news organizations were likely to succeed on their due process claim and could suffer irreparable harm if their access remained revoked.
He also determined that restoring their access would serve the public interest, emphasizing the importance of a free press in informing the public about government activities.
Kelly cited the principle that the press “stands as one of the great interpreters between the government and the people.”
The judge also referenced a similar dispute he handled in 2018 involving Trump and then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta, whose White House access was temporarily revoked following a contentious exchange with the president.
Kelly said the latest case did not present circumstances sufficiently extraordinary to justify departing from established due process principles requiring notice and an opportunity to be heard before the government deprives individuals of a protected interest.
Kelly’s temporary restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days.
Following the ruling, Boutrous said the decision supported freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law.
The White House and Justice Department were contacted for comment.
