White House turns away CNN, MS NOW, Politico reporters after Donald Trump's media ban
CNN reporter Betsy Klein was one of the journalists who had her press pass confiscated. (AP: Jose Luis Magana)
In short:
The White House has confiscated the press passes of journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, denying the reporters entry to the building's grounds.
It comes after US President Donald Trump announced yesterday he was banning the three media outlets from the White House and warned that other outlets will also be banned.
The media outlets have signalled they may contest the ban, while the White House Correspondents' Association says the ban violates press freedom protections enshrined in the US Constitution.
The White House has denied access to journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, following through with US President Donald Trump's announcement yesterday that he would ban them from the building's grounds.
All three news outlets separately said their teams' press passes were confiscated on Saturday morning, local time, when their reporters went to the White House.
They have signalled they may contest the ban on the grounds it conflicts with the US Constitution's First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press.
Donald Trump accused the three media outlets of publishing "fake news". (AP: Alex Brandon)
A CNN statement on Saturday called the ban "an illegal assault" on its constitutional right to do journalism without interference from the government. In separate statements, MS NOW and Politico said they would "defend our First Amendment rights".
MS NOW said it intends to "take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy".
CNN and MS NOW said they would continue reporting on the Trump administration, and Politico said it stands by its reporters covering the White House.
An association representing hundreds of journalists who cover the White House called the ban a violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which enshrines press freedom, and called for immediate restoration of access for banned colleagues.
"Courts have repeatedly held that once the White House provides access to journalists, it cannot deny that access arbitrarily or based on the content of their reporting," said Jacqui Heinrich, president of the White House Correspondents' Association.
The White House declined to issue any new statements on the matter on Saturday, referring AFP to Mr Trump's comments on Friday announcing the bans.
A social media post by Mr Trump accused the outlets of "reporting FAKE NEWS" and said that they "shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States".
He added, "Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow."
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Mr Trump answered a question about what he meant by other outlets, by describing The New York Times and the Washington Post as examples of "fake news," although he did not specifically say he would ban them from the White House.
The New York Times in a statement called Mr Trump's latest ban "yet another retaliatory and unconstitutional threat" and said the newspaper "stands in support of the news organisations being unfairly targeted by the president".
The Washington Post in a statement on Saturday said its access to the White House is a "non-negotiable constitutional right," and called the US president's actions "a clear form of intimidation meant to silence coverage".
Mr Trump previously has tried to keep certain news outlets or specific journalists out of press gatherings.
Last year he banned the Associated Press from the pool of reporters that cover his movements because the news agency did not adopt Mr Trump's preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico after the president instructed the executive branch to call it the Gulf of America. AP has challenged the ban.
In his first term, Mr Trump's White House sought to revoke or suspend the credentials of Playboy correspondent Brian Karem and CNN's Jim Acosta, but federal judges ordered their White House press passes be restored.
Reuters/AFP