Three news organisations – CNN, MS NOW, and Politico – announced on Monday that they will file a lawsuit against the US government after being barred from White House grounds.
In a joint statement, the media outlets argued that US President Donald Trump’s decision to bar them violates their First Amendment rights to cover the president, reports The New York Times.
The legal action follows Trump’s declaration on Friday banning the three news outlets, complaining about what he described as negative coverage. On Saturday, reporters from each of the three outlets were denied access to the White House.
On Monday, CNN was also removed from its duties as the White House pool representative for television networks.
The news organisations confirmed in their joint statement that they had informed the US government of their plan to file the lawsuit on Monday.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the statement read. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
Announcing the ban on Friday in a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES.”
In remarks delivered from the Oval Office later that day, Trump said, “There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories.”
