Six citizens sue Trump over White House press ban

Six citizens who consume the news reported by the White House press corps to do their jobs are suing President Donald Trump over his press ban on CNN, Politico, and MS Now.The individual plaintiffs join the three news outlets in filing a First Amendment lawsuit against the administration. But unlike the outlets’ case, the newly filed suit argues the press ban violates the public’s right to independent reporting and seeks to protect journalists covering the White House from retaliation more broadly.“All of the Plaintiffs rely on the White House press corps for independent reporting about the president and his administration, and all of them use that reporting in a variety of ways in their scholarship, teaching, journalism, or advocacy,” the court filing states. The plaintiffs are a human rights advocate, a media watchdog, a historian, a civics teacher, a legal journalist, and a student journalist. The complaint was filed on their behalf by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic.“The Policy injures Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit reads, “because it deprives them of reporting of the journalists and news organizations that Defendants have targeted under the Policy; because it will deprive them of the reporting of the journalists and news organizations that Defendants target under the Policy in the future; and because the threat of being targeted in the future is likely to distort the reporting of news organizations today.”Besides Trump, the other listed defendants are White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House communications director Steven Cheung, and Secret Service Director Sean Curran. Each co-defendant is involved in implementing and enforcing the policy prohibiting certain news organizations from covering the White House.The plaintiffs are asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to declare the policy unconstitutional and impose an injunction barring the administration from enforcing the press restrictions.“The Policy violates the First Amendment because it imposes viewpoint-based and unreasonable restrictions on newsgathering and reporting in a limited public forum—the White House Press Forum—thereby burdening Plaintiffs’ right to receive information,” the court document reads in conclusion.TRUMP OFFERS $1 MILLION REWARD FOR TIPS RESULTING IN VOTER FRAUD CONVICTIONSA White House official dismissed the latest legal challenge, telling the Associated Press that “no person may demand access to the Oval Office” and that journalists disseminating “misinformation and defamation are completely capable of reporting their manufactured stories from directly outside.”The original lawsuit resulted in an Oct. 13 preliminary injunction requiring the administration to maintain press access for CNN, Politico, and MS Now indefinitely while the case proceeds in court. Still, the White House has maintained certain blocks on some of the outlets. On Monday, CNN and Politico were prevented from boarding Air Force One to carry out their pool duties.