Federal Judge Sides with CNN, Politico, MS NOW in Battle Against White House
A federal judge has extended an order preventing President Donald Trump from removing CNN, Politico, and MS NOW’s access to the White House grounds, amid their legal challenge against the ban he imposed last month. The judge issued a preliminary injunction that keeps their “hard passes” active,allowing unaccompanied access to the White House press areas until the lawsuit is resolved. Even though the order restores their ability to be on the premises, it does not require the White House to reinstate their presence in the Oval Office or on Air Force One, areas from which they have been previously barred. The move follows Trump’s announcement of the ban, which he justified as necessary due to their reporting being fake news, but courts have found no substantial national security concerns justifying it. The judge ruled that the ban likely violated free speech and due process rights, noting that Trump’s own remarks suggested the real reason was retaliatory content-based targeting of the outlets.The legal case remains ongoing, with the temporary injunction maintaining the current situation until a final decision is made.
A federal judge on Tuesday extended an order that keeps CNN, Politico, and MS NOW inside the White House complex while they fight a ban that President Donald Trump imposed last month.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction late Tuesday. It blocks the administration from yanking the three outlets’ “hard passes” until the lawsuit is decided.
A “hard pass” allows reporters access to White House press areas unaccompanied.
BREAKING: Judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction requiring the White House to restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO, finding that Trump’s ban likely violated the First and Fifth Amendments. https://t.co/uwB2fUtRXo
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) October 14, 2026
The order restores the media outlets’ access to the White House grounds. However, it does not force the administration to put the outlets back into the Oval Office or on Air Force One, places CNN and Politico reporters have been kept out in recent weeks.
Politico noted that the White House has generally refused to let the three outlets participate in pool coverage even after an earlier restraining order.
A Trump-appointed federal judge on Tuesday night handed a major victory to the Fake News industrial complex, blocking President Donald Trump’s effort to ban CNN, MS NOW (the rebranded failure formerly known as MSNBC), and Politico from the White House.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, appointed by Trump in 2017, granted a preliminary injunction that indefinitely maintains access for reporters from the three outlets. The order prevents administration officials (except the President himself) from enforcing the September 18, 2026, revocation of their “hard pass” credentials while the lawsuit proceeds. Plaintiffs were required to post a laughable $1 nominal bond.
Read the rest of the story, link in the comments.
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) October 14, 2026
Trump announced the ban in a Sept. 18 post on the social media platform. He wrote that it was the result of their constant “reporting” of “FAKE NEWS,” and that other outlets would follow.
In filings the three organizations said the move hit 78 journalists who already held hard passes. They sued, arguing the ban amounted to a “direct assault on the First Amendment,” according to NBC News.
Trump wrote that he was “proud to announce” the immediate ban of “Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico,” and he criticized Politico for what he called an “illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription” from the Biden administration. He added that other outlets would follow
The administration later said the ban was about national security. Kelly was not persuaded.
“There is practically nothing national security-related in the record connected to the President’s decision to revoke Plaintiffs’ hard passes to which the Court can defer,” he wrote in a 26-page opinion, according to NBC. “Strikingly, there is just about no evidence in the record to explain or justify the ‘ban’ from a national security perspective.” He called national security a post-hoc justification.
Kelly wrote that Trump’s own words showed the reason was content.
“President Trump likely banned Plaintiffs from the White House because he believes that their reporting is generally inaccurate and biased against him,” the judge wrote, according to NBC.
He cited Trump’s remarks to Time magazine about coverage of his White House, specifically calling out CNN and MS NOW. That was enough, Judge Kelly said, to show a likely causal link between the outlets’ protected speech and the revoked passes. He also found a likely due-process violation because the administration gave no advance notice that concerns about their reporting could cost them access.
a federal judge has again blocked trump from barring cnn, ms now and politico from the white house.
judge timothy kelly found strong arguments that the ban violated their first amendment and due process rights. the three outlets retain access as the case continues.
https://t.co/baL48XxE2n
— Michael Rusch (@weeddude) October 14, 2026
The outlets’ lawyer, Theodore Boutrous Jr., said in a statement issued after the ruling that President Trump had “repeatedly, candidly, and consistently admitted in public that he banned our clients from the White House to punish reporting he doesn’t like,” NBC reported.
Kelly had already issued a temporary restraining order on Sept. 24th that lifted the ban while he considered the injunction. President Trump vowed to appeal before Tuesday’s decision. The White House did not immediately comment afterward.
The case is not over, the injunction holds the status quo until the lawsuit is resolved, and the administration can still appeal.
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