The White House escalated its dispute with several major news organizations Saturday by excluding CNN from a scheduled press-pool assignment aboard Air Force One. The decision came two days after a federal judge temporarily restored White House credentials to journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
CNN had been scheduled to travel aboard Air Force One as President Donald Trump flew to Knoxville, Tennessee. Trump traveled there to attend a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas.
Instead, White House guidance listed Real America’s Voice News for the flight.
The change is the latest development in a growing legal fight over presidential press access. The dispute involves the White House’s authority to decide which journalists can enter the presidential complex and participate in limited-access press events.
CNN is part of a television pool made up of major U.S. broadcast and cable news organizations. Pool members rotate assignments because there is not enough room for every news organization to accompany the president everywhere he goes.
A network assigned to the pool normally records the president and distributes its video to other participating organizations. This allows many news organizations to cover presidential travel even when only a small number of journalists can be physically present.
The Associated Press reported that CNN had been scheduled for Saturday’s assignment. However, the White House guidance issued Friday night instead included Real America’s Voice, which is not part of the traditional television pool.
A written pool report Saturday morning said there was “no TV pool” for the trip. Real America’s Voice said it planned to make its video feeds available to other news organizations.
The latest action followed a much broader restriction imposed by Trump about a week earlier.
Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would no longer be allowed on White House grounds. He accused the organizations of reporting false information about his administration.
The White House later defended the restrictions in a public statement titled “White House Access Is a Privilege — Not a Right.” The administration argued that the First Amendment protects the right of news organizations to publish stories but does not automatically guarantee a White House hard pass, briefing room seat or press-pool position.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico challenged that position in federal court.
The three organizations filed a lawsuit on September 21. They argued that the administration had violated their First Amendment rights by retaliating against them because of their reporting.
They also raised a Fifth Amendment due-process claim. The news organizations said the administration removed their access without following proper procedures.
The administration disputed those arguments.
Justice Department lawyers defended the restrictions and argued that the president has broad authority over access to the White House. The administration also raised national security concerns, accusing the organizations of publishing false, sensitive or classified information.
The dispute reached U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington.
Kelly temporarily blocked the broader White House ban early Thursday. His order required the administration to restore the press credentials of journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico for 14 days while the legal dispute continues.
Kelly found that the organizations were likely to succeed on their claim that the administration failed to provide sufficient due process when their credentials were revoked.
The ruling did not settle the entire case.
It also did not specifically order the White House to give CNN a seat aboard Air Force One or address every press-pool assignment. That distinction could become important as the legal fight continues.
Reporters from the three organizations initially encountered additional problems entering the White House after Kelly issued his order. Some journalists were turned away Thursday morning, prompting attorneys for the organizations to ask for an emergency hearing.
The White House said it was working to reactivate the credentials. Reporters from the organizations were eventually allowed back onto the grounds later that day.
The disagreement then shifted toward press-pool access.
On Friday, the television pool was operating again. CNN participated in coverage surrounding Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington.
By Saturday, another dispute had developed.
CNN was not aboard Air Force One despite being scheduled for the television-pool assignment. Real America’s Voice was aboard instead.
CNN did not issue an extensive public response Saturday. Its coverage described the decision as another move in the administration’s continuing conflict with CNN and the larger White House press corps.
Trump also addressed the broader dispute Saturday on social media. He repeated his criticism of news organizations that he considers inaccurate and argued that such outlets should not be allowed inside the White House.
The disagreement extends beyond CNN.
When CNN, MS NOW and Politico were originally excluded, other television networks stopped participating in the regular video pool in support of the three organizations. The action disrupted normal television coverage of some presidential events.
ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are among the major organizations involved in the television pool.
The White House press pool has existed in different forms for decades. It was developed because practical and security limits make it impossible for every journalist covering the president to attend every event or travel aboard presidential aircraft.
Pool reporters therefore work on behalf of a much larger group.
The system has changed during Trump’s second administration. The White House has taken greater control over which organizations participate in the pool, a role that had previously been largely managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association.
The administration argues that no individual news organization has an automatic right to special access.
The news organizations challenging the administration make a different argument. They say the government cannot grant access to journalists and then remove it as punishment for reporting or viewpoints that government officials dislike.
Those competing arguments are now before the federal courts.
Kelly’s temporary order deals primarily with the journalists’ White House credentials. A longer legal fight could determine what procedures the administration must follow before withdrawing those credentials.
Press-pool assignments could present a separate issue.
The Air Force One dispute demonstrates why that distinction matters. CNN reporters can currently enter the White House under Kelly’s temporary order, but the administration still excluded the network from Saturday’s presidential flight.
No final court ruling has determined the full extent of the administration’s authority over the three organizations.
For now, CNN, MS NOW and Politico have regained access to the White House grounds. Their lawsuit continues, and the temporary restraining order remains in effect while the court considers the dispute.
Saturday’s Air Force One decision shows that restoring White House credentials has not ended the disagreement.
The next stage could determine not only who can enter the White House, but how much discretion an administration has when deciding which news organizations receive close access to the president.
IMAGE: President Donald J. Trump Author The White House CC0