The White House has moved to bar journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, carrying out US President Donald Trump’s stated intention to block the organisations from accessing the grounds.
Each outlet said separately that their journalists had their White House press passes confiscated this morning when they arrived at the building.
The three organisations have indicated they may challenge the decision, arguing it runs up against the First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press in the US Constitution.
In a statement, CNN described the move as “an illegal assault” on its constitutional right to do journalism without interference from the US government.
In their own statements, MS NOW and Politico said they would “defend our First Amendment rights.”
MS NOW said it plans to “take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”
CNN and MS NOW said their coverage of the Trump administration would continue, while Politico said it stands by its reporters assigned to cover the White House.
Donald Trump taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office yesterday
The action follows a social media post from Mr Trump yesterday in which he accused the outlets of “reporting FAKE NEWS” and argued they “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States.”
He added: “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
Asked in the Oval Office what he meant by that warning, Mr Trump pointed to the New York Times and the Washington Post as examples of “fake news,” though he did not explicitly say he would also bar them from the White House.
The New York Times said in a statement that the latest ban was “yet another retaliatory and unconstitutional threat” and that it “stands in support of the news organisations being unfairly targeted by the president”.
The Washington Post said in a statement that access to the White House is a “non-negotiable constitutional right,” calling the president’s actions “a clear form of intimidation meant to silence coverage.”
Mr Trump has previously attempted to exclude specific outlets or individual journalists from press events.
Last year, he removed the Associated Press from the pool of reporters who cover his movements after the agency did not adopt Mr Trump’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico following his instruction that the executive branch refer to it as the Gulf of America.
During his first term, the White House under Mr Trump sought to revoke or suspend the credentials of Playboy correspondent Brian Karem and CNN’s Jim Acosta, but federal judges ordered their White House press passes restored.
