White House Faces Legal and Press Backlash After Blocking CNN, MS NOW and Politico

The White House came under growing legal and constitutional scrutiny Saturday after journalists from MS NOW, CNN and Politico were barred from the White House grounds and had their press credentials confiscated or disabled.

The three news organizations denounced the restrictions, while the White House Correspondents’ Association called for the reporters to regain access. Jameel Jaffer, director of Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, told NBC News that the decision was “pretty clearly unconstitutional” and said he expected a potential legal challenge to have a strong chance of succeeding.

The restrictions followed President Donald Trump’s announcement Friday that the three outlets would be barred over what he described as their “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.” Trump also warned that “other outlets” could face similar measures, although he did not name them.

On Saturday morning, MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner, CNN reporter Betsy Klein and Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett arrived at the White House for work but were refused entry. Their press credentials were either confiscated or deactivated.

“MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalists in our democracy,” the network said.

CNN described the restrictions as “an illegal assault” on its constitutional rights, while Politico said it would “vigorously defend” its reporters and First Amendment protections.

Access denied

Gardner said her White House credential failed when she arrived Saturday.

“The officer asked me to hand over my badge,” Gardner said on air. “He said that it was disabled. I asked why I was not able to get inside. He said it was above him.”

Gardner said an MS NOW photographer was also prevented from entering, while one of the network’s producers was permitted onto the White House grounds. It was not immediately known why the individuals received different treatment.

“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” MS NOW said in a statement posted on X.

Klein remained inside the security kiosk for roughly a minute before leaving without her credential, which she said had been taken from her.

CNN confirmed Saturday that its journalists had been denied entry.

“We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hinderance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right,” the outlet said in a statement posted on X.

“We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account, and we will continue to report on the actions and processes of this administration without fear or favor,” the statement added.

Haslett briefly entered the security kiosk before leaving after being denied access to the White House grounds.

Politico Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger told staff in a newsroomwide email that Haslett’s Secret Service-issued pass had been confiscated.

“We stand by her and all reporters here covering the White House. As we said yesterday, we will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights,” Greenberger said, according to a post by Politico’s communications team on X.

Inside the White House, the work areas normally occupied by CNN and MS NOW journalists remained empty Saturday.

A senior White House official defended Trump’s decision in comments to NBC News, saying, “As the President said, for far too long Fake News outlets have been peddling lies about him and his Administration. And that is a great disservice to the American people and tears at the fabric of our Democracy.”

Another senior White House official said that many Trump aides, including some working in the press office, were unaware beforehand that the ban was going to be imposed. The official nevertheless defended the president’s decision, telling NBC News, “Nobody close to the President was surprised at his action to hold the fake news accountable.”

NBC News reported that none of the multiple high-level current and former White House staff members it spoke with said they had known in advance about Trump’s plan to bar the three major news organizations from the White House grounds.

CNN and MS NOW continued reporting after their journalists lost access, conducting live broadcasts from the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street in Washington, across from the usual White House press entrance.

The White House declined to provide additional comment Saturday and referred NBC News to Trump’s earlier statements.

In a Truth Social post Friday afternoon, Trump said media organizations “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States.”

Trump again warned that “other outlets” would “follow,” without identifying which organizations might be affected.

Trump discussed the restrictions in the Oval Office Friday, saying the new policy resulted from “cumulative stories over the last few years.” A White House spokesperson directed NBC News to the president’s remarks.

Trump also claimed that Politico had received “a illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government.”

Politico’s press team responded Friday on X, saying Trump’s assertion that the publication “received government subsidies are false and have been thoroughly debunked.”

“POLITICO will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones. We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them,” the post said.

Criticism spreads

The White House action prompted criticism from press organizations and others.

Speaking Friday at Colgate University, former President Barack Obama questioned what the reaction would have been had his administration barred Fox News.

“I’m trying to think what would have happened if I had said, ‘You know what? Fox News, you’re out of here.’ It’s unimaginable.”

Obama said that if a segment of the country supports such a restriction, “we have not developed the kind of understanding of what democracy requires” and argued that greater effort would be needed to reinforce that understanding.

During a special report Saturday evening, MS NOW anchor Peter Alexander said the restrictions “is not normal.”

“This is not business as usual. What’s happening right now is different. The latest threat against our cherished freedoms, protected by the U.S. Constitution,” Alexander said.

Alexander later asked Gabe Rottman, vice president of policy at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, whether he believed Trump’s action was legal.

“In a word, no,” Rottman said, describing the decision as a clear First Amendment violation. “The fact that the White House would put the affected news organizations to the task of having to go to court and vindicate their rights, you know that in and of itself is an effort to intimidate the press writ large.”

White House Correspondents’ Association President Jacqui Heinrich said Friday that the restrictions violated constitutional protections.

“The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference,” Heinrich said in a statement. “That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask.”

“The WHCA stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MS NOW, and Politico who are being singled out for doing their jobs,” she added.

After the reporters were denied access, Heinrich issued another statement warning of broader implications for the press.

“The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future,” Heinrich wrote in a WHCA statement. “The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably.”

Heinrich also said courts have previously determined that the White House cannot arbitrarily deny journalists access based on the content of their reporting.

“The WHCA calls on the administration to immediately restore our colleagues’ access,” Heinrich added.

New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander also criticized the administration’s action.

“The courts have twice found that the Trump administration violated the Constitution by suspending reporters’ White House press passes,” Stadtlander said. “The Times stands in support of the news organizations being unfairly targeted by the president.”

A ‘broader pattern’

Jaffer, the First Amendment scholar, told NBC News that the latest action was “representative of a broader pattern” involving the Trump administration. He pointed to previous efforts to remove The Associated Press from the White House press pool and restrictions placed on journalists’ access to the Pentagon by the Defense Department.

“I see this latest move as part of that same pattern, which I think is an effort by President Trump to intimidate the press and to deter media outlets from reporting critically about his policies and decisions,” Jaffer said.

He characterized the dispute as involving the public’s ability to receive independent information about government.

“President Trump presents it as retaliation against these particular news organizations, but it’s really a move against the public’s right to know, and that’s the way that we should be thinking about it,” Jaffer said.

The latest restrictions come amid a series of confrontations between Trump and news organizations over their coverage.

Soon after returning to office, Trump barred The Associated Press from the Oval Office, Air Force One and certain events after the news organization declined to adopt his administration’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump sought to rename the Gulf of America.

The AP subsequently filed a lawsuit, which remains ongoing.

Lauren Easton, the AP’s chief communications officer, said Saturday that the organization supports other news outlets whose access has been restricted.

“No news organization — or person — should be retaliated against by the government over the words they use,” Easton wrote.

Trump has also brought defamation lawsuits against several media organizations, including the BBC, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The cases involving the Times and Journal were dismissed before being refiled, while the BBC has sought dismissal of Trump’s lawsuit.

The dispute over White House press access now places CNN, MS NOW and Politico at the center of a broader legal and constitutional debate over the relationship between the administration and the independent press.