White House Ban On Associated Press Upheld By U.S. Appeals Court, Trump Comments

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A federal appeals court on Friday allowed the Trump administration to ban the Associated Press from some White House media events.

The appeals court paused a lower court ruling that required journalists from the outlet to gain access.

Per Reuters:

The divided ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily blocks an order by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, who ruled on April 8 that the Trump administration must allow AP journalists access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and White House events while the news agency’s lawsuit moves forward.

The 2-1 ruling was written by U.S. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, joined by fellow Trump appointee U.S. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas.

Rao wrote that the lower court injunction “impinges on the President’s independence and control over his private workspaces” and that the White House was likely to ultimately defeat the Associated Press’ lawsuit.

The Associated Press in a statement said it was disappointed by the decision and weighing its options.

“Today our @AP White House reporter was denied access to the Oval Office because the Associated Press recognizes the international body of water on our southern coastline as the Gulf of Mexico, while acknowledging President Donald Trump’s order to rename it the Gulf of America,” AP Pentagon correspondent Tara Copp said.

“Big WIN over AP today. They refused to state the facts or the Truth on the GULF OF AMERICA. FAKE NEWS!!!” President Trump said.

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CNN reports:

The dispute erupted in February when Trump officials objected to the AP stylebook’s listing for the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump had decreed would be renamed the Gulf of America.

The change took effect at US government agencies. But other countries do not recognize the new name, and the AP has customers around the world, so it still refers to the Gulf of Mexico while also acknowledging Trump’s executive order.

The Trump White House claimed that coverage decision was “divisive” and “dishonest” and banned newswire reporters from events, triggering a First Amendment legal battle.

The AP said the White House ban was a form of viewpoint discrimination and would have chilling effects for the news industry as a whole.

After a judge sided with the wire service in April, Trump removed the traditional wire position in the daily “pool” rotation altogether, a change designed to withstand legal scrutiny while still disadvantaging the AP.

Refuting the allegation of “viewpoint discrimination,” the White House said “outlets will be eligible for participation in the Pool, irrespective of the substantive viewpoint expressed by an outlet.”

The upshot: The AP still gets some chances to question the president, but not as frequently as before, and with the knowledge that the Trump White House ultimately has control over the process.



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