Hard Pass
Just after midnight last night, Judge Kelly entered an order directing the president to unban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House grounds. He issued a 14-day Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) restoring hard passes for journalists working for those media outlets. This is a temporary measure; the next step will be more briefing by the parties as the Judge considers whether to impose a preliminary injunction that would last longer, restoring the journalists’ access while the litigation proceeds. The Judge did not stay his order, noting that TROs are not usually appealable orders. In other words, for the next 14 days, the government has to restore the plaintiffs’ access, keeping the status quo in place while the court sorts the matter out.
Or, at least, that was what was supposed to happen. Early this morning, there were reports on Twitter that journalists returning to work at the White House were denied entry. MSNOW’s Kyle Griffin tweeted that “Some CNN staff have been unable to gain access to the White House … There was no reason provided for the refusal.” At least one person, apparently, was able to enter the White House. There was a similar report from Politico; one of its reporters “was denied access to the White House Thursday and his press credentials confiscated after a judge ordered the Trump admin to immediately restore access for news organizations that Trump banned.” MS NOW White House reporter Laura Barrón-López and an MS NOW producer were denied access and had their passes confiscated, while another MS NOW producer was granted access.
That led to a request from the lawyers for the plaintiffs for an emergency hearing with the court. “Defendants have already repeatedly violated the Court’s Order,” Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., an attorney for the media outlets, wrote in the filing. Judge Kelly ordered the Trump administration to respond to the emergency request by 12:30 p.m.
But in advance of the scheduled hearing, reports began to trickle in of reporters being permitted to enter the White House grounds and regaining access.
By the time the government’s response was due, it assured the court it was complying. The Judge told the plaintiffs they could come back to him after 6 p.m. if there were any additional issues.
All of this was taking place against the backdrop of the official state visit from Xi Jinping, the president of the People’s Republic of China. Nonetheless, the White House pool declined to restore coverage unless and until CNN was permitted to resume its pool role by the White House. As former Obama White House official Chris Lu pointed out to us Saturday, that should be a no-brainer because every White House (and especially this one) wants coverage, so the media has some leverage here. The images of Trump with no sound and the painful deployment of “Trump TV” would have made you expect the White House would have needed no prompting to do this. But the latest word before I sent out the newsletter tonight seemed to be that CNN had still not been restored to the press pool, so the other members, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News, continued to suspend their operations.
Steve Herman, the Executive Director of the Jordan Center for Journalism at Ole Miss and former White House Bureau Chief for Voice of America News, explained the importance of that move like this: “the TV pool’s multi-day boycott in support of their banned colleagues, is momentous. The White House Correspondents’ Association traditionally preferred quiet advocacy, not activism. But this administration’s assault on the press has compelled an unprecedented reaction.”
As all of this was going on, the court set a briefing schedule for the preliminary injunction proceedings, with the final brief due no later than October 5. Judge Kelly wrote that “The Court will set a hearing at a later date but intends to rule expeditiously on the motion for a preliminary injunction.” He referenced a similar intent to move quickly in advance of yesterday’s hearing and ruled before the next morning.
Trump continues to be the worst witness against himself. During a press conference with Xi, Trump, according to PBS NewsHour co-host Geoff Bennett, “Very briefly in front of news photographers … noted that Xi has the friendliest press corps in the world. The U.S. president quipped that the Chinese press ask Xi for permission to speak.” Bennett provided the context: “China is one of the most oppressive environments for journalists in the world.” CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene explained that Trump made the comments after “US and Chinese photographers were separated from the pool and brought in for two sprays with the president. It was during the second spray that Trump made his ‘joke.’”
As journalists prepared to cover the state dinner for Xi, there were reports the White House had returned to excluding MSNOW and CNN from coverage, with reporters being told to talk to Steven Cheung—the presidential advisor who is a name defendant in the lawsuit. CNN’s Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter tweeted, “Unfortunately there’s another new development: The White House has barred two CNN journalists from covering Xi Jinping’s arrival back at the WH for a state dinner, ‘after trying to tell the network which type of journalists could cover the event.’” We can expect to see the lawyers back in court in short order if this isn’t resolved.
Earlier this evening, at the White House dinner honoring Xi, Trump remarked that he wanted to go “off script” and then said, “as a special treat in honor of President Xi, I’d like to invite everyone in the room to visit through that beautiful curtain in the back. It’s one year away from completion—the new ballroom that you’ve heard about … So in honor of you, you’ll be the first people to step foot on that. This is in honor of President Xi.”
Trump and his party, in advance of the midterm elections, have been attempting to demonize Democrats with the epithet “communist.” In what CBS describes as “A new ad campaign glorifying President Trump” that “is on the air on national cable and national networks including CBS beginning Thursday, and it’s being paid for by American taxpayers,” Trump vows, “We will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America.”
But apparently not if it’s in China. When it comes to real life communists, they get a state dinner and an invite to tour the ballroom. And Trump clearly seems to prefer Xi’s approach towards journalists.
I hope posts like tonight’s are what you come to Civil Discourse for. My goal is to follow the lawsuits that help us stay informed about the state of our democracy. Your support makes it possible for me to devote days like today to tracking developments, reading the pleadings, and assessing developments in court. And most importantly, your paid subscriptions help me keep this work available to everyone.
We’re in this together,
Joyce