Washington, DC: The White House has barred CNN from flying aboard Air Force One on Saturday (local time) as part of the television press pool covering US President Donald Trump's trip to Tennessee for a college football game.
CNN had been scheduled to fly aboard the president's plane as part of the White House TV press pool, a rotating group of journalists that covers the president where space is limited and shares information and video with other television networks.
The White House's daily guidance and press schedule for Saturday listed Real America's Voice (RAV) as the secondary television correspondent and crew for the out-of-town travel pool, but did not name CNN as the primary television pool member.
The move comes amid an ongoing dispute between the Trump administration and CNN, MS NOW and Politico over White House press access. Last week, Trump announced that the three outlets were being banned from the White House, also preventing CNN from flying on Air Force One and carrying out its scheduled pool duties when Trump travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
A federal judge later blocked the administration from enforcing the White House ban on the three outlets and ordered it to restore the credentials of affected reporters. However, the ruling did not directly address pool duties or Air Force One.
The other television pool members — Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS — had refused to perform their pool duties after CNN was barred. Regular coverage resumed on Friday, with CNN serving as part of the pool as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the National Archives.
It remained unclear how the White House's latest move would affect the ongoing litigation involving CNN, MS NOW and Politico. An outside lawyer representing the outlets had said the plaintiffs believed the court's ruling also covered access to the television pool.
