The White House fired a legal salvo at CNN on Wednesday, responding to a lawsuit the network filed after the Trump administration revoked the press credentials of its chief correspondent, Jim Acosta.
‘No journalist has a First Amendment right to enter the White House,’ the government argued in a filing to the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Trump, the administration claimed, doesn’t have to justify his decision constitutionally ‘whenever he exercises his discretion to deny an individual journalist one of the many hundreds of passes granting on-demand access to the White House complex.’
The court docket was updated just as a group news organizations, including the Associated Pres and the Trump-friendly Fox News Channel, said they would file a friend-of-the-court brief backing CNN.
The White House’s argument is centers on a reading of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees the freedom to publish, but not to attend White House functions on-demand.
‘The President and his staff have absolute discretion over which journalists they grant interviews to, as well as over which journalists they acknowledge at press events,’ Trump’s Justice Department lawyers argued.
‘That broad discretion necessarily includes discretion over which journalists receive on-demand access to the White House grounds and special access during White House travel for the purpose of asking questions of the President or his staff.’
Scroll down to read the White House’s lawsuit response
Acosta saw his press credentials rescinded Wednesday after he clashed with an intern over a press conference microphone
‘Whether the news of the day concerns national security, the economy, or the environment, reporters covering the White House must remain free to ask questions. It is imperative that independent journalists have access to the President and his activities, and that journalists are not barred for arbitrary reasons,’ the press outlets said.
‘Our news organizations support the fundamental constitutional right to question this President, or any President. We will be filing friend-of-the-court briefs to support CNN’s and Jim Acosta’s lawsuit based on these principles.’
The other signers included NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, Bloomberg, Gannett, Scripps, USA Today, First Look Media Works, the National Press Club Journalism Institute and the Press Freedom Defense Fund.
The White House Correspondents Association’s president, SiriusXM broadcaster Olivier Knox, issued a supportive statement on Tuesday.
CNN filed its federal lawsuit after the White House punished Acosta for clashing with Trump and a female intern during a November 7 press conference.
The networks’ suit, filed by a team that includes former George W. Bush solicitor general Ted Olson, demands the immediate return of Acosta’s credentials. The White House fired back at CNN, one of the president’s favorite targets, for ‘grandstanding.’
Acosta lost access to the building last Wednesday night, hours after refusing to give up a microphone when the president said he had answered enough of his questions.
Acosta, who has frequently clashed with President Trump during persistent questioning, lost access to the White House on Wednesday night
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement last week that Acosta ‘physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern.’ That appeared to be softer language than her earlier claim that he placed ‘his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job.’
CNN vigorously disputed the implication of anything more than minor physical contact.
The network claims the revocation of Acosta’s press pass violates the constitutional rights to freedom of the press and due process. CNN is asking for an immediate restraining order to reinstate Acosta’s access to the White House.
The suit ‘demands the return of the White House credentials of CNN’s Chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process,’ according to a CNN statement.
‘We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process.’
The suit names as defendants Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications and former Fox News executive Bill Shine, the director of the U.S. Secret Service and the uniformed officer who took away the credentials.
The network is seeking a preliminary injunction. It has already written the White House demanding an end to Acosta’s punishment.
The suit was filed by Ted Boutrous, and Olson, of the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Acosta was banned from the White House last week after a heated exchange with President Trump during a press conference in which an intern tried to take his microphone away
Olivier Knox, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said in a statement that the group ‘strongly supports CNN’s goal of seeing their correspondent regain a US Secret Service security credential that the White House should not have taken away in the first place.’
Sanders responded: ‘We have been advised that CNN has filed a complaint challenging the suspension of Jim Acosta’s hard pass. This is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.’
She continued: ‘CNN, who has nearly 50 additional hard pass holders, and Mr. Acosta is no more or less special than any other media outlet or reporter with respect to the First Amendment. After Mr. Acosta asked the President two questions—each of which the President answered—he physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions. This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters.’
‘The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional. The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor. If there is no check on this type of behavior it impedes the ability of the President, the White House staff, and members of the media to conduct business,’ Sanders concluded.
CNN’s lawyers say Acosta’s First and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights were violated
The White House did not respond on Tuesday to a question about whether Sanders issued the statement in her capacity as a presidential spokesperson or as a named defendant in the lawsuit.
Floyd Abrams, a veteran lawyer and expert in First Amendment law, told CNN’s Reliable Sources on Sunday that the network would have a robust case.
‘I think it’s a really strong lawsuit,’ Abrams said.
‘I can understand CNN being reluctant to sue because the president keeps saying CNN is the enemy of me, and CNN might have reluctance to have a lawsuit titled “CNN vs.Donald Trump.” That said, yes, I think they should sue,’ he said.
Former ABC News journalist Sam Donaldson appeared on the program and revealed he had been asked to sign an affidavit in support of CNN’s case.
He described the decision to ban Acosta as ‘not only wrong and unfair’ but also ‘dangerous for the press as a whole.’
Even as he had lost his access to the White House, Acosta tweeted a defiant message to Trump from Paris Friday, saying he intended to cover the president’s trip there despite being stripped of his access.
The reporter tweeted a view of the Eiffel Tower and said: ‘Greetings from Paris where we are on the ground for Trump’s trip to France. #1A.’
The hashtag was a reference to the first amendment, which prohibits the federal government from curtailing the publishing rights of the press.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted the clip to justify the White House’s decision to revoke Acosta’s press pass