A federal judge has rejected an appeal to restore immediate access for Associated Press reporters and photographers to White House events.
Last week, AP sued three Trump administration officials, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy Taylor Budowich, and spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, alleging that its reporters were unconstitutionally banned from the building.
The decision to exclude one of the leading news agencies was reportedly made by the administration after AP refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by the MAGA leader’s imposed name of the “Gulf of America.” The action taken in early February caused quite a stir. “It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” said at the time Julie Pace, AP’s senior vice president and executive editor, “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”
Subsequently, some 40 news organizations, including Fox News and Newsmax, which have always aligned themselves with GOP policies, signed a joint letter urging the White House to reverse the decision to “ban” AP reporters.
However, despite the emergency motion filed by the agency, Judge Trevor McFadden, appointed by President Trump, said more time will be needed before a decision can be made on the matter. The hearing has been postponed for more discussion until next March 20. This means that at least for the next month, Associated Press reporters will not be welcome at the White House.
Charles Tobin, a lawyer for the agency, argued that AP reporters and photographers were “unable to report firsthand” on the federal administration after being banned from the presidential mansion, an affair that, according to the lawyer, is damaging the company’s reputation with its subscribers and the ability of its employees to accurately cover the news.
For these reasons, Tobin had called for the full restoration of Associated Press access to major White House events, including the ability to travel with the president.
For their part, administration lawyers said that the “content of a journalist’s speech” can be taken into account in granting or not granting access to the Pennsylvania Avenue building, and that the president has the ability to bar entry to as many media outlets as he wishes.
“There is no right to have special access to the Oval Office,” lawyers said, “asking the President of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right.”
