Trump Bans CNN From White House, Now CNN plans to Sue

CNN and two other media are preparing to sue the Trump administration after their journalists were physically barred from the White House and had press credentials confiscated. This could be the biggest press freedom clash between the White House and the American media.

Trump announced the ban on Friday, accusing CNN, Politico and MS NOW of reporting "fake news." By Saturday it was already in effect, reporters turned away at the gates, badges confiscated by the Secret Service.

The White House's own Sunday night guidance email remove CNN from the TV pool rotation entirely for Monday, stripping the network of its scheduled assignment, including covering Trump's trip to New York for the UN General Assembly.

The media outlets have since expressed concern about the recent ban. “We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government," CNN said. Politico called Trump's claim that it received government subsidies "false" and "thoroughly debunked."

The White House Correspondents' Association's president expressed her views saying, "The president said it plainly in the Oval Office, describing his own planned action as a 'ban on the free press.'"

CNN has been here before, and won. Back in Trump's first term, when the White House removed reporter Jim Acosta's credentials, CNN sued and a federal judge ruled in their favor, concluding the White House had violated due process.

The credentials came back permanently, and CNN dropped the case. Just last year, the Associated Press was banned from the press pool after refusing to call it the "Gulf of America," sued, and won at the district court level, though that ruling is now under appeal.

This time is different in one key way, it's not one reporter, it's three entire organisations having existing credentials revoked at once. The Knight First Amendment Institute's Jameel Jaffer says it raises serious constitutional concerns, and legal experts are not yet sure exactly how the old precedents will apply to a case like this. Trump has hinted other outlets could be next.