CNN, Politico, MS NOW sue Trump over White House press ban — SkimNews
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- CNN, Politico and MS NOW filed a joint lawsuit in US District Court in Washington asking a judge to declare Trump's ban unconstitutional, saying their credentials were revoked 'without notice or process' because of their reporting.
- Trump announced the ban on Friday accusing the three outlets of writing 'fiction or lies' and later said the New York Times and Washington Post were 'fake news' too, adding 'there may be others to join them.'
- ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — the only five US networks with the infrastructure to pool live from the White House — pulled out of pool duties Monday, issuing a joint statement that 'no administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting.'
- The White House launched a 24/7 streaming channel dubbed 'Trump TV' after the major networks suspended pooled coverage of the president ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York.
- Conservative outlet Real America's Voice was listed as 'secondary' crew on Trump's New York trip, filling the void left by the major networks' boycott.
- The New York Times and Washington Post declined to share still images from Trump events on Monday, widening the press revolt beyond broadcast outlets.
- NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted Trump for an hour-long meeting and told reporters afterward he had invited 'all the members of the press here on the lawn, and that is something that I believe in' — a rare public split with Trump on press access.
Why it matters: The lawsuit escalates a direct constitutional clash over whether the president can revoke press credentials based on coverage content, with the three outlets arguing the ban 'threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism.' Five major TV networks — representing essentially all live broadcast pool capacity — simultaneously walked away from coverage duties, leaving Real America's Voice as the listed 'secondary' crew. The Trump administration's launch of its own 'Trump TV' stream signals it is building infrastructure to operate without the traditional press pool.
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