Three news organizations banned from the White House for days were back Thursday after a judge handed CNN, MS NOW and Politico a reprieve in an extraordinary showdown between President Donald Trump and outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

But media coverage of Trump’s White House was hardly normal. On a high-profile day when Chinese leader Xi Jinping was visiting Washington and planning to attend a state dinner, no major American network was airing live coverage.

After the White House banned CNN from a rotation of five major U.S. broadcast outlets who take turns shooting and sharing video, the other four — in a show of solidarity — were still declining to participate in the so-called video pool.

The president posted online that TV networks “refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years … because they knew how good it would be, they didn’t want credit to be given to “TRUMP.”

It was a chaotic day for the media at the White House and in court.

Initially, in the morning, CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists were denied entry. A Secret Service agent had confiscated their credentials as part of the ban. After the ruling for the outlets in the early hours Thursday, White House operations officials were notified to restore access to the affected reporters, but said they needed time to find, reactivate and deliver their entry badges. The process took over two hours, according to an administration court filing.

In his decision to provisionally lift the ban, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the three outlets’ access. He said they had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order and were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process.

The ruling did not address CNN’s removal from the White House video pool. The White House did not respond to an email seeking comment.

  • America@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    Honestly, none of this matters. Everything is on fire. Hearing quotes from the fire starter and his PR team isn’t going to keep me more informed than just watching the blaze take down my home

  • MrSulu@lemmy.ml
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    1 day ago

    Trump will be fuming at minions countermanding his decisions. The baby will throw toys out of the pram.