White House Blocks CNN, MS NOW, Politico Reporters Despite Court Order

• Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were barred from entering the White House on Thursday despite a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to immediately restore their press access.

• Judge Kelly ruled earlier that the administration had likely violated the journalists’ constitutional due-process rights by revoking their White House hard passes without adequate notice or an opportunity to challenge the decision.

• The immediate dispute now extends beyond the legality of the original ban to whether the White House complied with the federal court’s order.

September 24, () – The White House on Thursday blocked reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from entering the presidential complex despite a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to immediately restore the news organisations’ access.

The development came only hours after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order directing the administration to return, reinstate and restore the White House hard-pass credentials of employees of the three outlets.

The three news organisations subsequently sought an emergency hearing before Kelly after some of their journalists were still refused entry, creating a new legal confrontation over the enforcement of the judge’s order.

CNN correspondent Betsy Klein and a photojournalist were reportedly denied access to the White House grounds despite several attempts to enter. CNN admitted that only its producer was able to gain access earlier in the morning using a pass.

Reporters representing MS NOW and Politico were also reportedly prevented from entering.

Politico said one of its reporters had his press credential confiscated by the Secret Service, while MS NOW correspondent Laura Barrón-López reported that her pass was taken when she attempted to enter the complex.

The White House did not immediately explain why journalists from the three organisations were still being denied access after Kelly’s ruling.

earlier reported a temporary restraining order by Judge Kelly after CNN, MS NOW and Politico challenged President Donald Trump’s decision to bar them from the White House.

The judge directed senior administration officials and their representatives (excluding Trump himself), to immediately restore the journalists’ hard-pass credentials.

The order will remain in force for 14 days unless modified or extended by the court.

Kelly found that the media organisations had demonstrated a likelihood of succeeding in their argument that the administration failed to provide constitutionally adequate due process before revoking their credentials.

The judge said the journalists were not given notice of the alleged violations or a meaningful opportunity to respond before their passes were taken away.

He cited established legal principles requiring individuals to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the government deprives them of a constitutionally protected interest.

Kelly also found that the circumstances did not justify departing from that principle.

The administration had defended the ban partly on national security grounds, arguing that reporting by the three organisations created security concerns.

But Kelly said the government’s arguments offered little support for that position at the preliminary stage of the case.

The judge noted that nothing in the record predating the lawsuit demonstrated that national security had been the reason for revoking the organisations’ hard passes.

He also pointed to a discrepancy between the administration’s subsequent legal justification and Trump’s original public announcement of the ban.

Trump announced the restrictions on September 18, accusing the outlets of producing “FAKE NEWS” and saying they should not be allowed to continue what he characterised as false reporting. He also suggested that additional media organisations could face similar treatment.