CNN is preparing for potential further court battles against the White House after its journalists were repeatedly denied access to Air Force One and the rotating television press pool. The dispute follows a preliminary injunction granted last week by a federal judge, which temporarily halted a broader administration ban on news organizations from White House grounds.
The underlying conflict began on September 18, when President Donald Trump announced that reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and would be barred from White House grounds after labeling their coverage “fake news.” By the following day, journalists discovered their access passes had been deactivated. Last week, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that the affected media outlets were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the administration violated the First Amendment and due process, leading him to grant an open-ended preliminary injunction.
Despite that judicial ruling, CNN reports that the White House has continued to selectively block its journalists from taking their scheduled turns in the television pool covering presidential travel. Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., an attorney representing CNN, detailed the ongoing restrictions in a letter sent late Monday to Justice Department attorney Michael K. Velchik.
Boutrous stated in the correspondence that CNN has maintained uninterrupted access to the Oval Office and Air Force One for 45 years. He emphasized that these spaces belong to the public rather than any specific administration, with journalists acting as surrogates for citizens. According to the letter, the administration has engaged in what appears to be a new, unstated policy to interfere with CNN’s duties within the five-major-network video pool, which also includes ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox.
The attorney noted that CNN has been excluded from Air Force One travel no fewer than four times when it was scheduled as the pool network. These instances include trips in September for the United Nations General Assembly, a football game in Knoxville, Tennessee, and a journey covering Texas and Oklahoma, followed by an exclusion this month during a presidential trip to Georgia and Florida. Boutrous wrote that the White House has offered no direct explanation or formal notification to CNN regarding its exclusion from the aircraft or the Oval Office.
Characterizing the restrictions as retaliatory and unlawful discrimination based on the content of the network’s reporting, Boutrous gave the administration two days to respond to the letter. He warned that if the actions persist, the network will return to court to defend its rights and is prepared to pursue the matter as long as necessary.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking comment on the attorney’s letter.
