Judge hears arguments on Trump White House media ban

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., heard arguments on Wednesday in a case over President Donald Trump’s decision to bar three media outlets — MS NOW, CNN, and Politico — from the White House. The outlets are asking the court to block the ban, saying it violates constitutional protections for the press and due process. During the hearing, Judge Timothy Kelly said he would review the arguments and try to provide a decision soon. The Justice Department defended the ban by saying White House access is a privilege and citing national security concerns, while the outlets argued that the action was retaliation for their reporting. Kelly later granted a temporary restraining order requiring the restoration of the outlets’ White House hard passes for 14 days, saying the plaintiffs had met the legal standard for emergency relief. He said the record did not support the claim that national security was the real reason for the revocations.