A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump Administration to restore the press pass of Brian Karem, Playboy's Senior White House reporter.
"Karem has shown that even the temporary suspension of his pass inflicts irreparable harm on his First Amendment rights," U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras wrote in his opinion.
News: A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore @BrianKarem's hard pass. pic.twitter.com/fz8a8j1EZR
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) September 3, 2019
Federal judge has granted @BrianKarem's request for the White House to restore his hard pass, issuing temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The @WHCA stood up for press access. Proud to be a footnote in First Amendment history. pic.twitter.com/2rufDq0oGs
— Todd J. Gillman (@toddgillman) September 3, 2019
Karem took to Twitter to celebrate the news and thank his attorneys.
Breaking: Just received word from D.C. District Court that our TRO has been granted and the WH must restore my press pass immediately. @realDonaldTrump
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) September 3, 2019
Thank you to @BoutrousTed and his fantastic team. Free Speech and Due process win!
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) September 3, 2019
God bless the Constitution, free speech, due process and ?@BoutrousTed? and his great legal team. pic.twitter.com/MaYjSzh2IY
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) September 3, 2019
Thanks to @Playboy @mrShaneMichael Chris Riley and all the crew at Playboy for their support!
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) September 3, 2019
The decision to revoke Karem's hard pass began at the beginning of August when Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham informed the Playboy reporter that a "preliminary decision" had been made in regards to his press access. The decision came after Karem got into a verbal altercation with Sebastian Gorka in the Rose Garden.
At the time, Karem was upset because President Donald Trump wasn't taking questions during a presser following his social media summit. He made a remark about those people being “prone to demonic possession.” That's when Gorka became upset.
In case you need a refresher, here's a video from the altercation:
That was a wild one ??White House Repoeter @BrianKarem said the crowd in attendance for the President’s announcement was “prone to demonic possession.” @SebGorka was having none of it - wow.
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 11, 2019
Pay Per View pic.twitter.com/tMpzF5bJFc