The judge didn’t rule immediately on the ban yesterday, which sent CNN into a fury, but it was coming soon. Within 36 hours, at around 1:30 AM this morning, Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that CNN, Politico, and MSNBC must be restored to White House access. It’s a 14-day restraining order, but hard passes and access to campus must be granted (via NYT):
A federal judge on Thursday said that President Trump’s order barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House was likely unconstitutional and ordered the administration to restore access to the three news outlets.
Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court in Washington granted a 14-day restraining order and told the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the press credentials held by employees of the three outlets.
The news organizations were likely to succeed in their claim that the White House had violated their constitutional due process rights by revoking their press credentials without advance notice or an opportunity to respond, Judge Kelly wrote in the order issued in the early hours of Thursday.
He also rejected, for now, the administration’s argument that revoking the outlets’ press credentials was necessary to protect national security.
Yet the White House seems to be defying the order, which I couldn’t care less, by denying a Politico reporter a pass earlier this morning. The same happened to an MSNBC journalist. As the Politico reporter tried to enter the White House grounds, the Secret Service denied entry, adding that they could do nothing after being informed of the court decision. As such, another emergency request has been filed:
🚨 MS Now White House reporter says she’s been denied access to the White House this morning despite a court order demanding she have access pic.twitter.com/E7gvhKmxO2
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) September 24, 2026
The WH has generally avoided defying court orders but appears to have done just that this morning. https://t.co/7eOQtdx6v9
— Brit Hume (@brithume) September 24, 2026
Breaking: CNN, MS NOW and Politico have filed an emergency request for a hearing after reporters were refused access to the White House despite a court order.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 24, 2026
A POLITICO reporter was denied access to the White House Thursday and his press credentials confiscated after a judge ordered the Trump administration overnight to immediately restore access for news organizations that President Donald Trump banned from the complex last week.
MS NOW and CNN said their reporters were also denied entry. The three outlets have been barred from the White House since Saturday, following an order from Trump to do so “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
[…]
A Secret Service agent told the POLITICO reporter who had his “hard pass” confiscated Thursday morning that he was not cleared to enter but might be able to with a temporary day pass. The temporary passes are granted to journalists who do not hold what are known as “hard passes,” which grant permanent access to press facilities at the White House.
The reporter explained the court had ordered that POLITICO reporters be allowed to return to the White House and that he should be cleared to enter. The Secret Service agent replied that there was nothing he could do.
The process is the punishment.
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