Washington, Sep 22 — Major US television networks suspended their shared pool coverage of President Donald Trump on Monday after the White House stopped CNN from carrying out an assigned trip, as CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the administration over a ban on their reporters.
Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News took the rare joint step after CNN was removed from the rotating television pool for Trump’s trip to New York ahead of the UN General Assembly.
“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Bryan Boughton, the Washington bureau chief at Fox News and current TV pool chair, wrote in an email to members.
“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,” he said.
The networks said the public had a direct stake in independent reporting about the government.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the five television pool members said in a joint statement. “No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting.”
The television pool supplies video footage and reporting when space or travel limits prevent the full press corps from accompanying the president. Print and photo journalists did not suspend their pool coverage. Conservative television outlet Real America’s Voice was scheduled to travel with Trump to New York on Monday.
The dispute escalated as CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington. They are seeking a temporary order blocking enforcement of the ban and restoration of their reporters’ permanent White House credentials.
The case was assigned to US District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump appointed. The lawsuit also names White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, chief of staff Susie Wiles and Secret Service Director Sean Curran as defendants.
The three outlets said they went to court to “protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a lawyer representing the organisations, called the White House action “a direct assault on the First Amendment and a blatant violation of due process.”
“The president has been explicit that this ban is intended to punish reporting he doesn’t like and to intimidate journalists and news organizations covering him and his administration,” Boutrous said.
Trump rejected the charge that his administration was attacking press freedom.
“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”
Reporters for CNN, MS NOW and Politico said they were denied entry to the White House grounds early Saturday, and their credentials were deactivated or confiscated. Trump had announced the ban on Friday while attacking their coverage. He did not identify a specific report that prompted the action and said other outlets could follow.