A US federal court has ordered that three news organisations barred from the White House have their access restored.
In an order issued early on Thursday, the court temporarily suspended President Donald Trump’s ban and ordered that journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico be allowed back into the White House.
It is the latest episode in an ongoing dispute between Trump and news organisations that publish reporting he dislikes. On September 18, Trump barred the three outlets from the White House grounds, attacking their reporting as “fake news”. He later said negative coverage of him was dangerous for the country.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico went to court against the ban. The three said they had been singled out because of the content of their reporting.
They argued that this was viewpoint discrimination and a clear violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
In the order, released after midnight on Thursday, US district judge Timothy Kelly said the news organisations had met the legal requirements for a temporary restraining order, including a likelihood of success on the merits and the risk of irreparable harm without a court order.
“This is a demanding legal standard,” Kelly wrote. “But the plaintiffs have met it.”
Judge Kelly heard the case on Wednesday and did not rule immediately. On Thursday he issued a temporary restraining order for 14 days. Such orders are usually granted to preserve the status quo until the court completes a detailed review of the case.
During the hearing, Kelly questioned whether the Trump administration had given CNN, MS NOW and Politico due process before imposing the ban.
Courts have ruled in two earlier cases on press access, one of which went to the US Supreme Court. Those rulings held that journalists must be given a chance to respond before their press passes are revoked.
Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik argued, however, that the rulings in those earlier cases were wrong.
Judge Kelly said there is precedent in First Amendment cases of this kind, and that even if the government disagrees with those rulings, earlier decisions in comparable cases will weigh in his decision.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report