AP says journalists blocked from Oval Office after judge’s order
The Associated Press on Monday said its journalists were barred from covering an Oval Office event featuring President Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in defiance of a court injunction.
“Our journalists were blocked from the Oval Office today,” a spokesperson for the wire service said. “We expect the White House to restore AP’s participation in the pool as of today, as provided in the injunction order.”
A federal judge last week ordered the Trump administration to restore The Associated Press’s access to key White House spaces after it banned AP reporters over the outlet’s refusal to use “Gulf of America” in its widely-cited stylebook.
The White House recently took control of deciding which outlets are allowed in the White House Press pool, a small group of reporters covering and traveling with the president, a privilege previously held by the White House Correspondents’ Association.
The AP was not included in Monday’s press pool, the first day the judge’s order went into effect.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press
Whether it’s the Des Moines Register’s publication of an unfavorable election poll, a routine edit of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, or the Associated Press’s decision in its authoritative stylebook to continue to use “Gulf of Mexico,” Donald Trump and the White House have used executive authority and legal reprisals in an effort to punish and suppress press coverage that runs contrary to the administration’s preferred narratives.
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