Judge: White House Media Ban Lawsuit 'Likely to Succeed'

A federal judge found President Trump likely broke the law in banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House before he extended an order that restored their access on Tuesday. A previous order was set to expire Tuesday before US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction, stating the media outlets can retain access while their lawsuit against the administration plays out, per Deutsche Welle. The Trump-nominated judge added that the outlets were "likely to succeed not only on their due process claim, but also on their two First Amendment claims."

Kelly said the administration likely violated due process in failing to give the outlets advance notice of concerns about their reporting before revoking press passes, which violated court precedent, per the Guardian and Politico. While the White House cited national security concerns, the judge wrote that "there is just about no evidence in the record to explain or justify the 'ban' from a national security perspective." Trump himself indicated the ban was the result of the outlets reporting "fiction" and "lies," which suggests "retaliation" and "viewpoint discrimination," Kelly said, concluding the ban would likely "deter a reasonable reporter or news organization from publishing stories to which he objects."