A legal action filed by the American outlets CNN, MSNOW and Politico on Monday, the 21st, requests full access to the credentials of journalists suspended from the White House last week.
The lawsuit was filed after Donald Trump barred journalists from television channels and the site from accessing the White House to cover the daily operations of the U.S. government. Amid Trump’s measure, other networks such as CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox News decided to suspend coverage in response to the move by the American leader.
The justification given by the U.S. president for suspending journalists’ access was that these networks were publishing false news about the Republican administration. The president himself publicly stated that the ban was a direct consequence of the journalists’ reporting.
Citing another suit, the outlets asserted that “discrimination by viewpoint is a poison” and that the way the credentials were withdrawn is unconstitutional and without valid parameters.
The aim of the action is to suspend the ban on the White House by invoking the First Amendment of the American Constitution. The First Amendment—the primary amendment of the U.S. Constitution—speaks to freedom of expression and the prohibition of state retaliation against journalists. In the legal action, the outlets claim that Trump violated this condition by revoking the credentials of reporters who covered the White House.
Additionally, the outlets cited the Fifth Amendment of the country’s Constitution, stating that the immediate suspension, without prior notice, is also arbitrary. Based on the Fifth Amendment, the outlets said that the reason presented by Trump, that the journalists published “Fake News,” is vague and does not correspond to a plausible punishment argument.
“On Friday, September 18, 2026, President Donald J. Trump announced that he was banning journalists from three media outlets – CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO – from the White House, with immediate effect, for a simple reason: he does not like the content of the coverage they produce about him and his administration. The president was explicit about his point of view—and the discriminatory motive—in targeting CNN, the MS NOW and the Politico. He described the measure as the result of his constant reporting of FAKE NEWS! – a term he routinely applies not to false reports, but to any reporting that he does not like. He then warned that there would be other Fake News outlets to follow,” begins the suit filed on Monday.
According to the suit, journalists have had access to the White House press area since 1902 and, in history, no “institutional” media outlet had been banned directly by a president – especially in a period of high political activity, such as the United Nations General Assembly in New York and Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping this week in Washington.
“The President did not provide any notice that he would immediately deny access to the White House facilities to news organizations whose reporting displeased him. He did not establish clear criteria for his decision either. Furthermore, the President did not grant CNN, MS NOW, the Politico, or any of its journalists any opportunity to be heard before announcing the prohibition in a post on social media and before the White House revoked the reporters’ access and confiscated the press credentials,” the action states.
As a preliminary petition, the suit does not set dates for court hearings, it only asks for the credentials to be returned to the journalists. On his social media, Trump responded to the action and said the government will appeal.
“In other words, almost without questions and, as usual, we will appeal; after all, people and Fake News outlets that only write negative things – and that violate our national security by publishing false and defamatory stories from unknown sources – should not have access to the most important office in the world. It is called the Oval Office, and it should be treated with decorum, respect, and dignity, not desecrated by third-rate clowns who, deliberately, distort, misrepresent, and degrade everything they write or publish. Practically all the stories about me, or anything related to me, are negative, incorrect and, in many cases, dangerous to our country,” published Trump on Truth Social.
