Trump’s Ban On CNN, MS NOW And Politico Likely Violated 1st Amendment, Judge Says

Judge Timothy Kelly said Trump’s own public comments suggested the outlets were targeted because of reporting he considered biased or inaccurate.

Donald Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from accessing the White House likely violated the First Amendment, US District Judge Tim Kelly has ruled, ordering the administration to restore the news organisations’ access while their lawsuit continues. In his latest order on Tuesday, Kelly said the president’s own public comments suggested that the restrictions were imposed because he disliked their reporting.

The judge also rejected the Justice Department’s national security defence, saying the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence that security concerns had motivated the decision.

Kelly wrote that Trump’s remarks established a “likely causal link” between the outlets’ protected First Amendment speech and the revocation of their White House hard passes. He concluded that the evidence supported their argument that the president had retaliated against them over coverage he considered inaccurate and biased. The ruling keeps the outlets’ access in place as the legal dispute proceeds, although the administration could appeal.

The Trump administration has argued that national security concerns partly motivated the decision, citing reporting by the three organisations on subjects including the Iran…

Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world