Judge Orders Trump Ban On Media Outlets Lifted (UPDATED)

 

As expected, the feeble-minded Malignant Fascist's un-Constitutional banning of three news media from the White House has suffered its first defeat in court:

A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban of three news outlets from the White House grounds, ordering early Thursday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico must have their access restored.

The ruling hands the outlets at least a temporary reprieve in what has been an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

Trump first announced he was banning the outlets Friday, assailing what he called “fake news,” and only later arguing that their reporting was a risk to national security. The outlets argued in a joint lawsuit that the ban was a blatant violation of the First Amendment because it singled them out for the content of their coverage.

In his late-night ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the three outlets’ access. He said they had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order, in effect for 14 days, and were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process.

“This is a high bar, but Plaintiffs have met it,” he wrote.

Kelly — whom Trump nominated in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018 — also said the government must have clear standards for conduct that would lead to revoking a press pass. He called the standard of objectionable reporting outlined in letters that the White House sent the outlets “so vague it hardly does the trick.” 

The judge also made clear he did not buy the administration’s argument that the news outlets’ reporting endangered national security — and noted that Trump himself had not used that argument in the beginning, focusing solely on what he called negative coverage.

“Nothing in the record ... suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns,” he wrote.

The ruling came after Kelly heard arguments in an emergency hearing Wednesday. Temporary restraining orders are typically designed to preserve the status quo pending a closer review of the case by the court.

“This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law,” Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the outlets, said in an emailed statement. “We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.”...  (our emphasis)

The ban finally motivated the access-driven White House press corps to gird their spines and stand up against the would-be tyrant by suspending pool coverage of the MF.  Meanwhile, given the moronic MF's characterization of the ban as resulting from "negative" coverage, this is as slam dunk a First Amendment case as there could be, with the ultimate defeat of the MF just a matter of time (and we don't underestimate the dilatory games that will be played to stave off that defeat).

Also, it's good to know there are at least some MF-appointed judges who can read the Constitution and uphold their oaths of office.

UPDATE:  The games have begun -- reporters from the three organizations have been barred from the White House grounds this morning, in defiance of the court's order.

(Image:  Judge Kelly and the MF / Getty Images)