POLITICO, CNN, MS NOW barred from White House after court ruling restoring access

A POLITICO reporter was denied access to the White House Thursday and his press credentials confiscated after a judge ordered the Trump administration overnight to immediately restore access for news organizations that President Donald Trump banned from the complex last week.

MS NOW and CNN said their reporters were also denied entry. The three outlets have been barred from the White House since Saturday, following an order from Trump to do so "as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!"

US District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order early Thursday morning mandating that the administration restore the organizations' access for at least two weeks while further litigation plays out. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ted Boutrous Jr., the lead lawyer for the three outlets, alerted the judge in a filing Thursday morning that reporters from the outlets had been turned away and asked Kelly to hold "an immediate hearing" on the administration's "non-compliance" with Kelly's ruling. The judge ordered the Trump administration to respond to the allegation by 12:30 p.m. Eastern.

A Secret Service agent said the reporter was not cleared to enter but might be able to with a temporary day pass, which the White House grants to those who do not hold what are known as "hard passes," which grant permanent access to press facilities at the White House.

The reporter explained the court had ordered that POLITICO reporters be allowed to return to the White House and that he should be cleared to enter. The Secret Service agent replied that there was nothing he could do.

A spokesperson for POLITICO referred back to the outlet's reporting on the judge's decision.

This story originally appeared on POLITICO and is courtesy of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, which harnesses the resources of the company's newsrooms to publish ambitious scoops, investigations, interviews, opinion pieces, and analysis. It allows journalists — including those from POLITICO, Business Insider, WELT, BILD, Onet, and Fakt — to collaborate on major stories for an international audience of hundreds of millions across platforms.