The dispute between the Trump administration and three major U.S. news organisations intensified on Thursday after reporters from CNN and MS NOW said they were denied access to cover the arrival of guests for a White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to restore the White House credentials of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
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The latest development followed a turbulent day in which the three organisations were first turned away from the White House despite the overnight court ruling, subsequently readmitted around midday and then faced fresh restrictions surrounding coverage of the evening state dinner.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly had issued a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to immediately restore the press credentials and general White House access of the three organisations for 14 days. Kelly concluded at this preliminary stage that the outlets were likely to succeed on their claim that the government had revoked their credentials without constitutionally adequate due process.
The order did not finally determine the organisations’ broader First Amendment claims, which remain part of the underlying lawsuit.
The controversy began after President Donald Trump announced last Friday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would no longer be permitted onto White House grounds, accusing them of publishing “fake news,” “fiction” and “lies.”
By Saturday, reporters from the three organisations had been turned away and their White House hard passes deactivated or confiscated. The outlets subsequently sued the administration, alleging that they had been punished because of the content of their journalism in violation of the First Amendment and deprived of their credentials without due process under the Fifth Amendment.
More than 50 news organisations across the political and editorial spectrum reportedly backed the challenge through a friend-of-the-court filing, while several major television networks suspended their participation in the regular White House television pool in solidarity.
In his overnight ruling, Judge Kelly focused particularly on the manner in which the credentials were revoked.
“The general rule is that individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them of a constitutionally protected interest,” the judge said, according to reports of the decision.
Kelly also questioned the administration’s attempt to justify the revocations on national-security grounds.
The Department of Justice had argued that reports concerning subjects including missile stockpiles and sensitive White House construction raised national-security concerns.
But Kelly said the record before him did not sufficiently support the contention that revoking the three organisations’ passes would protect national security.
“The Court is skeptical — at least on this record — that Defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes,” he wrote.
The judge consequently directed that the credentials be reinstated immediately while the litigation continued.
That did not immediately resolve the dispute.
Early Thursday morning, CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein attempted to enter the complex but was told at a Secret Service checkpoint that she was not approved for entry. Other staff members from the affected organisations also reported difficulties accessing the grounds.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico then sought an emergency hearing, telling the court that the administration had not complied with the overnight order. Kelly directed the Justice Department to respond to the complaint.
The situation changed later in the morning when the White House informed the court that the affected credentials had been restored. By around midday, journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were again entering the White House complex.
The apparent resolution proved short-lived.
Later on Thursday, as President Trump hosted Xi for a state dinner, CNN and MS NOW said personnel they had submitted to cover arriving guests were denied access to that particular event.
MS NOW White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López said White House officials told her she would not be permitted to enter for the assignment and directed her to contact White House Communications Director Steven Cheung.
CNN similarly said it had submitted the names of its proposed team but was informed shortly before Xi’s expected arrival that it could have a photojournalist and audio technician present, but not the reporter-and-producer team it had sought to deploy.
Independent reporting also confirmed that CNN and MS NOW said they had been prevented from covering the state dinner arrivals after their general White House credentials had earlier been restored.
The distinction between general White House access and access to individual presidential events has now become an important part of the dispute.
The temporary order required restoration of the organisations’ hard passes and barred enforcement of the blanket exclusion for 14 days. The White House, however, has maintained that restoring those credentials does not mean that every reporter has an unrestricted right to attend every White House function.
A White House communications account said that news organisations did not have “free rein” to attend every part of the complex, every event or every press call.
That position means the legal significance of Thursday evening’s exclusion may depend on whether CNN and MS NOW were denied access under ordinary event-specific press arrangements or whether the exclusion amounted in practice to continued enforcement of the broader ban that Kelly temporarily blocked. The court had not, as of the reports reviewed, issued a separate ruling specifically resolving that question.
The confrontation unfolded during one of the most closely watched diplomatic events at the White House, with Trump hosting Xi for an official state visit that included a formal arrival ceremony, bilateral engagements and the state dinner. The White House had announced beforehand that Trump and First Lady Melania Trump would host Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on September 24.
The press dispute also disrupted normal television coverage of the visit.
CNN is part of a five-network rotation alongside ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News — under which one broadcaster at a time provides shared video footage from White House events.
After CNN was removed from the pool under the original ban, the other four major networks declined to participate in solidarity. As a result, normal pool television coverage was unavailable for portions of Xi’s visit even after the three banned organisations regained general access.
The five broadcasters had argued that the public had an interest in receiving accurate and independent information about government and that an administration should not restrict a news organisation because it objected to its reporting.
The administration, by contrast, has maintained that access to restricted presidential spaces is a privilege subject to White House control and that the President retains authority over who may enter areas such as the Oval Office and attend particular events.
The present court order does not resolve that broader constitutional dispute. It temporarily restores the organisations’ credentials while the case proceeds and rests principally on Kelly’s finding that they had shown a likelihood of succeeding on their procedural due-process claim.
The case follows previous battles over White House press access.
During Trump’s first administration, the White House revoked CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credential in 2018. Judge Kelly the same judge handling the current litigation ordered Acosta’s access temporarily restored after finding due-process concerns.
The controversy also has historical precedent beyond the Trump administrations. In 2009, the Obama administration attempted to exclude Fox News from a specific pool interview, but other pool networks objected and Fox was ultimately allowed to participate.
The present dispute is broader because Trump initially imposed a blanket prohibition preventing CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists from entering the White House grounds rather than merely excluding a particular reporter from an individual event.
For now, CNN, MS NOW and Politico retain their restored White House credentials under the 14-day temporary court order, while the underlying lawsuit over press freedom, viewpoint discrimination and due process continues.
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