White House TV pool coverage of Donald Trump’s events resumed Friday after a weeklong standoff between the administration and major news organizations over Trump’s decision to bar POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW from the White House.
CBS News resumed its role in the White House television press pool Friday, according to a pool report, signaling a return to the longstanding system in which a small group of broadcasters shares coverage with the broader press corps.
The pool had refused to cover Trump on Monday after the administration blocked reporters from the three outlets from entering the White House grounds and confiscated their press credentials.
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The dispute escalated into a legal fight after POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW sued the Trump administration, arguing that the ban violated their constitutional rights.
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily ordered the White House to restore the outlets’ access while the case proceeds. The ruling gave the media organizations a path back into the White House press pool and helped clear the way for television coverage to resume.
“We think that restoration of access means back into the pool, which is good for President Trump and the administration, and it’s good for the American people to get the pool back up and running,” Ted Boutrous, an attorney representing the three outlets, said Thursday on CNN.
A weeklong press fight
Trump announced last Friday that POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW would be barred from the White House, accusing the outlets of what he called unfair and false coverage.
Reporters from the organizations were denied entry the following day, and their White House credentials were revoked.
The move drew criticism from press organizations and First Amendment advocates and prompted the three outlets to take the administration to court.
The dispute also disrupted the television pool, which is designed to ensure that presidential events can be covered and shared among news organizations even when space or security restrictions prevent every outlet from sending its own crew.
With the three outlets temporarily restored to the White House press corps, the television pool has resumed its normal function.
CNN returns to pool duty
CNN is also scheduled to perform pool duty Friday as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping visit the National Archives.
The resumption of pool coverage comes as the broader legal battle over the administration’s treatment of the three outlets continues.
The federal judge’s temporary order does not resolve the underlying dispute. Instead, it restores access while the court considers the constitutional and procedural questions raised by the news organizations.
The week’s events have placed renewed attention on the longstanding tension between presidents and the White House press corps, particularly over whether the government can restrict journalists’ access in response to their reporting.
