CNN And MS NOW Reporters Allowed Back Into White House As Deadline Neared For Trump To Explain Why He Was Defying Court Order

A federal judge is giving Donald Trump until 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday to explain why White House credentials are still being denied to CNN, MS NOW and Politico, even after the court’s order to have them restored.

The three outlets altered U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to the continued denial, hours after he granted them a temporary restraining order. The order concluded that Trump’s ban on the outlets from the outlets violated due process, and ordered the hard passes to the White House complex immediately restored.

Meanwhile, as Trump was greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House, there was a lack of video images telecasting the moment. After CNN was pulled by the Trump administration from the TV pool on Monday, the four other networks suspended their participation as well in protest. CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox News make up the rest of the pool.

Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement that Kelly’s ruling “is an important win for the American public. The judge rightly recognized the irreparable damage that this media ban has inflicted on the targeted news outlets. These harms spread throughout the entire press corps, as the broad amicus coalition we represented so powerfully demonstrated.”

He added, “Given the early reports that the White House is not restoring access, the most important next step is ensuring that the administration honors the injunction and rule of law.”