Back in White House
Judge orders Trump aides to return CNN reporter’s press pass
DONALD Trump’s administration was yesterday ordered to reinstate a CNN reporter’s White House press credentials – although an associated lawsuit continues.
The White House revoked Jim Acosta’s credentials last week after he and Mr Trump argued during a press conference following the midterm elections.
Broadcaster CNN sued and asked Judge Timothy Kelly to issue a temporary restraining order forcing the White House to give back Acosta’s credentials.
Mr Kelly agreed and said Mr Acosta’s credentials must be reactivated to allow him access to the White House complex for press briefings and other events.
Mr Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, was back inside yesterday afternoon. The White House said it would be developing new rules for orderly press conferences.
CNN alleged that Mr Acosta’s right to free speech was violated when his ‘hard pass’ was revoked.
While the judge didn’t rule on the underlying case, he ordered Mr Acosta’s pass to be returned in part because he said that Mr Acosta had not received sufficient notice or explanation before his credentials were revoked, or been given sufficient opportunity to respond before they were.
The judge said the government could not say who initially decided to revoke Mr Acosta’s hard pass or how the decision was reached.
‘In response to the court, we will temporarily reinstate the reporter’s hard pass,’ White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
‘We will also further develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future.’
Speaking to reporters after the decision, Mr Trump said: ‘If they don’t listen to the rules and regulations, we will end up back in court and we will win.’
He later added: ‘We want total freedom of the press. It’s very important to me, more important to me than anybody would believe.
‘But you have to act with respect when you’re in the White House, and when I see the way some of my people get treated at press conferences, it’s terrible.
‘So we’re setting up a certain standard, which is what the court is requesting.’
The White House spelled out its reasons for revoking Mr Acosta’s credentials in a tweet from Ms Sanders and in a statement after
‘I would like to get back to work’
CNN filed its lawsuit.
But the judge said those ‘belated efforts were hardly sufficient to satisfy due process’.
However, the judge also emphasised the ‘very limited nature’ of his ruling. He noted he had not determined if Mr Acosta’s freedom of speech was violated.
Yesterday afternoon, more than 50 members of the White House press corps greeted Mr Acosta as he strode through the north west gate of the presidential compound in Washington.
He said he was grateful for the judge’s ruling, adding that it was a test and that the media had passed it.
‘This is just any other day at the White House for me and I would like to get back to work,’ he said.
Mr Trump has made his dislike of CNN clear – both before he took office and continuing into his presidency. He has characterised the network’s output as ‘fake news’, both on Twitter and in public comments.
At the press conference on November 7, Mr Trump was taking questions from reporters when he called on Mr Acosta, who asked about Trump’s statements about a caravan of migrants making its way to the US border with Mexico.
After a terse exchange, Mr Trump told Mr Acosta ‘that’s enough’ several times while calling on another reporter to ask their question.
Mr Acosta attempted to ask another question about special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, and initially declined to give up a handheld microphone to a White House intern.
Mr Trump responded to Mr Acosta by saying he wasn’t concerned about the investigation, calling it a ‘hoax’, and then criticised Mr Acosta, calling him a ‘rude, terrible person’.
Hours later, the White House pulled Mr Acosta’s credentials.
The White House’s explanations for why it seized Mr Acosta’s credentials have shifted over the past week. Ms Sanders initially accused Mr Acosta of making improper physical contact with the intern seeking to grab the microphone. But that rationale disappeared after witnesses backed Mr Acosta’s account – that he was just trying to keep hold of the microphone.
Ms Sanders distributed an allegedly doctored video that made Mr Acosta seem more aggressive than he supposedly was.
On Tuesday, Ms Sanders accused Mr Acosta in a written statement of being unprofessional by trying to dominate the questioning at the news conference.
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