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CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue over White House press ban

Washington, District of ColumbiaPublished 21 Sep 2026

The North Portico of the White House
The North Portico of the White House

The White House / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain · source

The three outlets asked a D.C. federal court to restore credentials after Trump barred them as “fake news.” Trump said the lockout is an assault on fake news, not the free press.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico notified the government on Monday they are suing President Trump, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, communications director Steven Cheung and Secret Service Director Sean Curran in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking a temporary restraining order to restore White House access. Reporters were turned away Saturday after Trump’s Friday Truth Social ban. The suit calls the lockout viewpoint retaliation and a due-process violation; Trump said it targets fake news, not the free press. ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC then suspended pooled TV coverage of the president.

Shared facts

President Trump announced Friday he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that the ban was over constant fake news, fiction and lies about his administration.

Trump wrote that other fake-news media outlets would follow.

Trump did not cite a specific story that prompted the ban.

Trump later said the ban came from cumulative stories over years.

Trump said he does not think a court should allow fake news to be written day after day.

Trump said somebody has a right to keep the outlets away if they write false stories all the time.

Trump said if outlets want to tell negative stories that is fine, but he does not have to let them into the people’s house.

Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied White House entry on Saturday and had credentials confiscated.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico notified the government Monday they are filing a federal lawsuit to restore White House access.

The outlets said they are suing to defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.

The outlets said the White House revoked journalists’ credentials without notice or process because it objected to their reporting.

The outlets said leaving the ban unchallenged threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and seeks a temporary restraining order restoring access.

The complaint says the ban is a direct assault on the First Amendment and a blatant violation of constitutional principles.

The suit alleges Trump banned the outlets to retaliate for coverage he deemed negative and to chill future reporting.

The suit alleges the ban violates due process because the outlets got no advance notice, clear standards, or chance to be heard.

The suit alleges the ban unlawfully bars the outlets from a nonpublic forum based on viewpoint.

The suit cites 1970s precedent that the White House cannot arbitrarily restrict press credentials in retaliation for viewpoint.

The suit says the ban has cost the outlets essential newsgathering at the seat of the executive branch.

The suit says the ban chills other journalists, who must weigh White House reporting against the risk of the same fate.

Trump posted Monday that the White House is not instituting an assault on the free press, which he said he cherishes.

Trump posted that the White House is assaulting fake news, which he said has grown like cancer, is corrupt and out of control.

Trump posted that fake news is a threat to national security and must be stopped now.

ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC suspended White House pooled television coverage of Trump.

The White House prevented CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties for Trump’s New York trip.

The five TV networks said the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.

The five networks said no administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.

CNN had been scheduled as the television pool for Trump’s United Nations trip in New York.

A CNN crew broadcast from a public pavement outside the secured White House grounds.

The administration barred Associated Press journalists from some restricted White House spaces after AP used “Gulf of Mexico” rather than “Gulf of America.”

The Associated Press sued over that access ban and the case remains in the courts.

BBC News

CNN, MS NOW and Politico to file lawsuit against Trump's White House ban

Alicia Curry and Bernd Debusmann

Published 21 Sep 2026 accessed 21 Sep 2026

Facts

The First Amendment forbids the government from abridging freedom of the press, language courts have read as barring content-based discrimination against media.

Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton wrote that effective today the TV pool will not cover designated pool coverage of Trump.

Boughton wrote that there will be no replacement pool put in place.

On Monday morning the CNN booth in the White House press area was empty and closed.

Real America’s Voice was listed as secondary crew on Trump’s New York trip.

Trump said the New York Times is fake news and the Washington Post is fake news.

In February the White House announced it was taking control of the press pool the White House Correspondents’ Association had managed for more than a century.

Trump’s administration has launched legal action against outlets including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the BBC.

Some of the lawsuits have resulted in media organisations agreeing to pay multimillion-dollar settlements.

Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC is ongoing.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

CNBC

Trump sued by MS NOW, CNN, Politico over White House media ban

Dan Mangan

Published 21 Sep 2026 accessed 21 Sep 2026

Facts

The suit says the Constitution protects news organizations’ liberty and property interests in White House press credentials.

Trump had not previously cited national security in justifying the ban.

The complaint notes presidents have long disagreed with press coverage of their administrations.

Trump gave no examples to back up his national-security claim.

Besides Trump, the defendants are Steven Cheung, Chief of Staff Susan Wiles and Secret Service Director Sean Curran.

Named plaintiffs include Akayla Gardner of MS NOW, Betsy Klein of CNN and Politico’s Cheyenne Haslett.

Trump told reporters Friday the latest ban is worth implementing even if a judge overturns it.

Trump said it is good to point the ban out whether it survives or does not.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC he does not know much about the ban.

Asked about an off-ramp from the ban, Bessent said we’ll see.

The White House said it would abolish the wire pool that included AP, Bloomberg and Reuters rather than give AP the same pool access.

The D.C. Circuit in a 2-1 June 2025 vote blocked McFadden’s ruling from taking effect while Trump appealed.

The appeals panel heard arguments in November but has not issued a decision.

Bessent said he is sure the ban will be covered by the press.

Fox News previously used the slogan Fair and Balanced before discontinuing it about a decade ago.

Jaffer said the Knight institute will support these news organizations in court.

Judge McFadden said the Constitution requires no less.

Opinion

Jaffer said barring the outlets from the White House for the content of their reporting is a flagrant First Amendment violation.

Bessent said legacy media is unpopular with the public because of perceived bias.

Bessent said maybe an off-ramp is a change in coverage at the White House.

Jaffer said the ban is an attack on press freedom and the public’s right to independent information about the government.

WHCA president Jacqui Heinrich said the American people must be able to scrutinize those elected to power through a free press, whether officials view it favorably or not.

Bessent said the press cares more about the press than anything else.

Jameel Jaffer of the Knight First Amendment Institute said he is glad the news organizations are suing.

Bessent said coverage could get back to something a little more fair and balanced.

Fox News

Trump bans CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House starting Saturday

Joseph A. Wulfsohn

Published 18 Sep 2026 accessed 21 Sep 2026

Facts

Trump denied he was trying to intimidate the press from doing its job.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders rejected the notion that Trump opposes a free press enshrined in the First Amendment.

For decades CNN has been part of a rotating pool of five networks, including Fox News, that travel with the president.

Past Trump administration efforts to ban outlets and individual journalists have been blocked by federal judges.

CNN said it stands fully behind its White House team and their fair and accurate reporting.

CNN said it has a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government.

Politico told Fox News Digital it will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones.

A spokesperson for MS NOW declined to comment.

Opinion

Sanders told reporters it is hard to argue against a free press when they are standing in the Oval Office asking the president questions.

Sanders said Trump has been more accessible and easier to talk to than any president in history.

Los Angeles Times

CNN, MS NOW and Politico file court challenge to Trump's press ban

Stephen Battaglio

Published 21 Sep 2026 accessed 21 Sep 2026

Facts

In 2018 the White House tried to ban CNN journalist Jim Acosta, but a court ordered his press credential reinstated.

A divided appeals court later paused that ruling for the Oval Office, Air Force One and other restricted spaces while the case proceeds.

Trump has called for the FCC to pull the TV station licenses of the broadcast networks.

Trump has asked the FCC to take action against individual journalists, most recently Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called for a review of ABC’s TV licenses, which Disney is challenging in court.

The Department of Defense tried to restrict journalist access to the Pentagon.

The Defense Department recently fired three Stars and Stripes journalists for insubordination after they appeared in a CBS report on restricted reporting.

Opinion

Heinrich said it is about the American people’s right to a full and independent account of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office.

MS NOW

MS NOW, CNN and Politico are suing Trump over White House ban

Fallon Gallagher

Published 21 Sep 2026 accessed 21 Sep 2026

Facts

The administration has fired journalists at the military’s independent newspaper, reviewed broadcast licenses, and previously barred other outlets from the White House and Pentagon, with litigation ongoing.

When asked for comment, the White House referred MS NOW to Trump’s Monday Truth Social post.

CNN participates in the five-network television press pool that shares resources to accompany the president.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Opinion

Attorney Theodore Boutrous said the ban harms the American people, who are entitled to rigorous, fact-based coverage of the president.

Boutrous said the law is on the outlets’ side across the board.

The Wrap

CNN, Politico and MS NOW Sue Trump Admin Over Unconstitutional White House Ban

JD Knapp

Published 21 Sep 2026 accessed 21 Sep 2026

Facts

No unique facts.

Opinion

No opinion marked.