Federal judge Timothy J Kelly, who was appointed by Donald Trump during his first term, has ordered the White House to immediately restore access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, dealing a legal setback to the President after he barred the three news organizations from the premises. In a ruling issued early Thursday, Kelly granted a 14-day temporary restraining order, allowing their journalists to regain access while the outlets’ lawsuit against the Trump administration moves forward. Kelly found that the organizations were likely to succeed on at least some of their claims, particularly their argument that their press credentials were revoked without 'constitutionally adequate due process'.
The judge noted that the administration did not dispute that the outlets 'did not receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before their hard passes were revoked'. Kelly also questioned the administration’s justification for the ban, saying its arguments offer little to back up their asserted national security interest. The ruling came shortly after the media firms sued Trump, arguing that he violated their First Amendment right to freedom of speech when he revoked their press credentials for entry into the White House.
