"Effective immediately," President Donald Trump announced out of the blue on Friday, he was banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House "as a result of their constant 'reporting' [of] FAKE NEWS!" Now the government's lawyers, in response to a lawsuit that the three news outlets filed on Monday, are scrambling to justify that act of pique on national security grounds.
On Tuesday night, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate filed a 19-page response to CNN et al.'s motion for a temporary restraining order, which U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly is considering at a hearing today. The plaintiffs argue that their sudden banishment violates due process and freedom of the press. Not so, Shumate says.
