Judge Extends Pause on Trump’s Ban Against CNN, MS NOW and Politico

Thursday’s hearing hinged largely on whether the government had taken the proper procedural steps before barring the outlets from White House grounds. After the ban took effect, the White House sent letters to the three companies laying out the rationale for the action and providing an opportunity to challenge it.

The letter said the news outlets had three days to send the White House a written response if they wanted to contest the ban. Judge Kelly’s two-week reprieve took effect before the White House’s deadline for that written response. None of the media companies sent one.

Michael Velchik, a lawyer representing the White House, said that the media outlets had “chosen not to defend themselves” because they did not respond.

Theodore J. Boutrous, a First Amendment lawyer representing the media outlets, called the White House’s process a “sham” and argued that the president had already made up his mind to ban the companies.

The hearing on Thursday focused on restoration of the news outlets’ credentials for access to the White House grounds, and not on the so-called pool assignments that have emerged as a point of contention since Judge Kelly’s order took effect. The “pool” is a rotating group of journalists that shares the responsibility of covering the president in small spaces that couldn’t fit the entire press corps.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/business/media/cnn-msnow-politico-media-ban-trump.html