Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied access to the White House on Saturday after President Donald Trump announced that he was barring the three outlets, according to the organizations and the BBC. Their press badges were disabled or confiscated, with Secret Service personnel involved in denying entry.
An MS NOW reporter, Akayla Gardner, and a photographer found that their badges would not scan when they tried to enter the White House grounds, the outlet reported. Gardner said an officer told her the badge was disabled and that the reason was “above him.” An MS NOW producer was allowed through, however, without an explanation for the different treatment.
CNN reporter Betsy Klein said a Secret Service agent told her that her badge had been deactivated. Politico reported that its reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also refused entry and that the Secret Service revoked her pass.
Trump said he was excluding the outlets because they were “fake news” and accused them of producing “fiction or lies” about his administration. He did not identify particular reports that prompted the decision, instead describing it as the result of “cumulative stories over the last few years.” He also suggested that other organizations could be affected, naming The New York Times and The Washington Post when asked about possible additional outlets, though the source text says he issued no directive banning them.
The three organizations objected to the move. MS NOW said it intended to take steps to defend its First Amendment rights, Politico Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger said the company would vigorously defend its reporters, and CNN called the ban an illegal interference with its constitutional right to report.
The White House Correspondents Association called for access to be restored, warning that excluding one outlet over its coverage could establish a standard applicable to others. Press-freedom groups, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the action was unconstitutional and expected courts to reject it. The committee’s president, Bruce Brown, said the White House could not bar journalists simply because officials disliked their reporting.