Washington: A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump's move to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House grounds, ordering their access to be restored and saying the ban was likely unconstitutional.
In a major setback for Trump in one of his biggest battles with the media, US District Judge Tim Kelly issued a temporary restraining order that will remain in effect for 14 days, in a lawsuit that the news organisations filed contesting the ban that the Republican president announced on September 18.
The outlets argued they were singled out because of the content of their coverage, calling the ban a ‘blatant violation’ of the First Amendment.
Trump had said on social media that the three outlets "shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES," and Justice Department lawyers had sought to justify the ban on national security grounds. Trump has also said more recently that negative coverage was dangerous for the country.
Kelly heard arguments on Wednesday and ended the hearing without ruling. Trump nominated Kelly in 2017, and the judge had previously ordered CNN journalist access restored in a similar case in 2018.
The temporary restraining order is designed to preserve the status quo while the court reviews the case.(With agency inputs from AP via PTI and Reuters)