On Friday, President Trump said he would ban CNN, MS Now and Politico from accessing the White House because of coverage he disliked. The following day journalists and media workers from those news organizations were barred by security from entering the grounds.
On Saturday the Politico and E&E News (PEN) Guild alongside their local, the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, released a statement saying, “This morning, Secret Service barred our own PEN Guild member Cheyenne Haslett from the White House simply for doing her job.
“Press access cannot be weaponized against journalists for their reporting,” they said. “An attack on one outlet’s ability to cover the White House is an attack on a free press for all of us. We stand with our members and every journalist targeted for doing their job.”
On Monday morning Politico, CNN and MS Now sued the Trump administration after journalists were barred from covering the White House, calling it a selective ban and a blatant violation of the First Amendment.
“I applaud these news organizations for pushing back immediately against Trump’s illegal behavior,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “This is yet again another shameful moment for our country. Trump doesn’t get to decide who covers the ‘people’s house.’ The First Amendment includes a free press so that tyrants wouldn’t be allowed to control what the public sees or hears.”