The White House has barred CNN from flying aboard Air Force One on Saturday as part of the television press pool covering President Donald Trump’s trip to Tennessee for a college football game.
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The White House’s daily guidance and press schedule for Saturday listed RAV as the secondary television correspondent and crew for the out-of-town travel pool. However, it did not name CNN or another outlet as the primary television pool member. The schedule was issued on Friday.
CNN had been scheduled to fly aboard the presidential plane as part of the White House television press pool, a rotating group of journalists that covers the president when space is limited and shares the information and video gathered with other television networks.
The move is the latest development in the Trump administration’s dispute with CNN and other news organisations over press access.
Earlier last week, Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be banned from the White House. The move also prevented the outlet from flying aboard Air Force One and carrying out its scheduled pool duties when Trump travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
A judge later blocked the administration from enforcing the ban on the three outlets and ordered it to restore the credentials of affected reporters. However, the status of the White House press pool remained less clear.
With CNN excluded from the television pool, Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS had refused to perform their pool duties until regular access was restored. Coverage resumed on Friday, with CNN serving as part of the pool as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the National Archives.
It remained unclear how the White House’s latest move would affect the ongoing litigation involving CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
An outside lawyer representing CNN had previously told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that he believed the restoration of the outlets’ access also covered the White House press pool. MS NOW and Politico are part of separate pool rotations from the five major television networks.
A judge has given the news organisations until Monday to file a request for a preliminary injunction, which could keep Trump’s proposed ban on the outlets on hold for a longer period.
The television press pool is a key way for audiences around the world to receive video of the president’s speeches and public appearances. It allows one group of journalists to cover events where space is limited and share the footage and information with other news organisations.
The White House press pool also includes print, radio and still photography rotations. The system exists partly because presidents frequently travel and speak at locations that cannot accommodate the entire press corps. The Trump White House also produces its own content, including livestreams of presidential events.
