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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJudge orders Trump White House to restore AP access
A blow for the First Amendment issued by a trump appointed judge
Link to tweet
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5238923-trump-administration-ap-access/
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of President Trump, directed the White House to resume allowing the AP into the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces when they’re made available to other press pool members.
The judge also granted the AP’s request for returned access to events open to all credentialed White House reporters, though it listed several caveats.
“This injunction does not limit the various permissible reasons the Government may have for excluding journalists from limited-access events. It does not mandate that all eligible journalists, or indeed any journalists at all, be given access to the President or nonpublic government spaces. It does not prohibit government officials from freely choosing which journalists to sit down with for interviews or which ones’ questions they answer. And it certainly does not prevent senior officials from publicly expressing their own views,” McFadden wrote.
“No, the Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” he wrote. “The Constitution requires no less.”

LetMyPeopleVote
(161,641 posts)viva la
(4,052 posts)It's so idiotic. Trump makes some insanely stupid edict that is contradicted by international law and custom, and insists that the supposed truthtellers who report on the White House should all idiotically nod and accept that his word is gospel.
I'm glad the judge at least didn't ratify that.
bluestarone
(19,564 posts)Because i'm sure they will appeal.
LetMyPeopleVote
(161,641 posts)The White House needs to watch out for ketchup tonight
Link to tweet
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/politics/judge-restores-associated-press-access-to-white-house
The preliminary injunction issued Tuesday afternoon against the White House by US District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, is a major blow to the administration’s efforts to curtail the AP’s access to the president based on news coverage it dislikes.
“The Government offers no other plausible explanation for its treatment of the AP. The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a nonpublic forum like the Oval Office,” McFadden wrote in the 41-page ruling.
Earlier this year, Trump imposed a ban on the AP to punish the news organization over its decision to continue using the phrase “Gulf of Mexico” even though Trump renamed the body of water “Gulf of America.”
“The AP seeks restored eligibility for admission to the press pool and limited-access press events, untainted by an impermissible viewpoint-based exclusion. That is all the Court orders today: For the Government to put the AP on an equal playing field as similarly situated outlets, despite the AP’s use of disfavored terminology,” McFadden added later.
“The Court merely declares that the AP’s exclusion has been contrary to the First Amendment, and it enjoins the Government from continuing down that unlawful path.”
Arazi
(7,707 posts)And the fascist 6 will rule for Traitor
(Feeling gloomy today)
Response to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)
LetMyPeopleVote This message was self-deleted by its author.
LetMyPeopleVote
(161,641 posts)White House officials tried to bully a major news organization into submission over the "Gulf of America." A Trump-appointed judge ruled against them.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3lmdfifmxys2p
Link to tweet
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-appointed-judge-orders-white-house-restore-associated-press-acce-rcna200377
Those inclined to believe the president and his political operation likely assumed that the case was over. It was not. In fact, as NBC News reported, a federal judge has now ruled against the White House.
A federal judge on Tuesday called The Associated Press’ exclusion from White House events “contrary to the First Amendment” and ordered the Trump administration to treat the newswire as it would any other media publication. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ... ordered the administration to “put the AP on an equal playing field as similarly situated outlets, despite the AP’s use of disfavored terminology.”
“Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” McFadden added in his ruling....
The president and his lawyers are expected to appeal the ruling (McFadden's order won't take effect until Sunday, giving the administration several days to file an emergency appeal), but as the case proceeds, it’s worth re-emphasizing the fact that there are larger principles at stake that are far broader than what people call a body of water. Indeed, this controversy, at its root, is about a White House waging an aggressive campaign against the free press and, in this instance, is also trying to bully one of the nation’s leading news organizations into submission as part of an Orwellian campaign.
Team Trump appears to have embraced a vision of the First Amendment in which people and businesses are free to use the words and phrases that Republicans like — or face the consequences.
A conservative federal judge has now told the White House that such a position is unconstitutional.
This will be fun to watch
LetMyPeopleVote
(161,641 posts)Response to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)
Daleuhlmann This message was self-deleted by its author.