General Discussion

In case this isn't obvious, Judge McFadden is a Trump-appointee and Federalist Society member. (Something to keep in mind in case House Republicans add him to their impeachment list.)

In February, Donald Trump and his White House team announced that they’d already won their case against The Associated Press in the “Gulf of America” case. In fact, following a procedural development in February, the White House heavily promoted images featuring the Republican-preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico and a giant “VICTORY” stamp over the southeastern United States.

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.