Judge lifts Trump ban on CNN, MS NOW, Politico from White House

A federal judge has ordered White House access to journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico to be temporarily restored, saying U.S. President Donald Trump's media ban was likely unconstitutional. In his ruling, District Judge Tim Kelly said the three outlets should have their access immediately restored from the ban that the president had announced on Sept. 18. The judge had been nominated by Trump to the federal bench in 2017. Kelly said the Trump administration must return, reinstate and restore the White House "hard pass" press credentials held by employees of the three outlets that had been revoked. The order is set to remain in effect for 14 days. "Simply put—the record lacks factual support for Defendants' contention that the revocation of Plaintiffs' hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the Court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds," Kelly said. In a Truth Social post last week, Trump said he was banning the outlets from the White House effective immediately, warning that other "Fake News Media Outlets" could follow. The president cited what he called "cumulative stories" by the three news organizations, adding, "You get sick of it." Disclosure: CNBC and MS NOW are divisions of Versant Media.