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Trump administration says president can ban media from White House for national security: CNN
CNN, MS NOW and Politico have sued Trump and other members of his administration saying the ban threatens the First Amendment and press freedom
- PUBLISHED: Wed 23 Sept 2026, 8:49 AM
The US Justice Department said late on Tuesday that three major national media — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — could be banned from the White House "at the president's will," in the interest of national security, a CNN report said.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had banned the three outlets from the White House for what he called "fake news" coverage, arguing that the media were spreading false information about him and his administration.
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He announced the ban on Friday on social media, saying those news outlets "shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States."
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"The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!" Trump wrote on in another post, without providing evidence of a national security threat.
In response, CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued Trump and other members of his administration, saying the action violated their rights to free speech and a free press under the US Constitution's First Amendment, according to Reuters.
The news outlets were seeking a temporary restraining order to block Trump's action in federal court in Washington, DC.
Meanwhile, the administration's lawyers argued that the ban was legal as the president can control parts of the White House to protect national security information, according to CNN.
“At the very least, the Government may control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office, even for viewpoint-discriminatory reasons,” the Justice Department wrote to the court, the CNN report said.
“The President has found that Plaintiffs have engaged in a number of reporting incidents that have threatened national security. Such reporting directly raises national security concerns.”
CNN also reported that the court filing argued that "access to the White House is a privilege, not a right."
[Inputs from Reuters]
