WASHINGTON — A tense standoff between the Trump administration and the press corps reached a boiling point on Thursday as White House officials and Secret Service agents continued to block journalists from entering the complex, despite a direct court order to restore their access.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. District Judge Timothy James Kelly issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) mandating that the White House immediately lift the suspension of press credentials for reporters from CNN, Politico, and MS Now. The administration had revoked the journalists’ access last week, with President Donald Trump citing “fake news” and claiming that their reporting posed a threat to national security. The news outlets filed a lawsuit arguing the ban was an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.
Despite the judge’s clear directive, the administration appeared to ignore the legal mandate. Journalists from all three outlets arrived at the White House on Thursday to fulfill their reporting duties, only to find their access denied.
CNN reported that its correspondent Betsy Klein and an accompanying photojournalist were repeatedly turned away at security checkpoints without explanation. Similarly, reporters from Politico and MS Now were barred from the grounds. MS Now reporter Laura Barrón-López recounted a frustrating experience at the press security hut, noting that her badge was rejected by the electronic scanning system before a Secret Service agent confiscated the physical pass entirely.
“It’s not clear based on the interaction I had whether or not this is a defiance of the court order, or it’s some kind of incompetence or lag in the system,” Barrón-López said following the encounter.
In an emergency filing to the court, the affected news organizations stated that Secret Service agents were actively confiscating the hard passes of reporters whose credentials had not even been previously revoked. The outlets emphasized the urgency of the situation, noting that CNN was scheduled to serve as the television pool for a high-profile visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping later that evening.
Legal experts have reacted with alarm to the administration’s actions. Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, criticized the government’s continued defiance of the judicial branch.
“The administration was rightly given the back of the hand by Judge Kelly for claiming routine reports harm ‘national security,’ but court orders are just paper unless they’re enforced,” Stern said. “Government officials who continue to deny journalists’ access to the White House in defiance of Kelly’s order should be held in contempt.”
Stern further urged the judiciary to consider aggressive sanctions against Department of Justice attorneys, warning that failing to act could lead to a precedent where executive officials utilize the Secret Service to enforce “authoritarian whims” against the press.
The news outlets have formally requested an immediate follow-up hearing with Judge Kelly to address the blatant disregard for his order. The White House has not yet provided a comment regarding the status of the credentials or why the court order has not been honored.
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