In Victory for Free Press, Judge Rules Trump Must Immediately Restore Jim Acosta's Press Pass

Published on

Friday, November 16, 2018

by

Common Dreams

"Today's decision reaffirms that no one, not even the president, is above the law."

by

Common Dreams staff

 2 Comments

A judge ordered the White House to restore CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's privileges covering the Trump administration on Friday. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc)

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates...

In a victory for press freedom, a federal judge on Friday granted CNN's emergency motion to immediately restore White House correspondent Jim Acosta's press credentials, which were revoked by the Trump administration last week after a chaotic post-midterm press conference.

Over a dozen news organizations announced their support for CNN's lawsuit against the Trump administration this week as the Justice Department argued in a court filing that "[n]o journalist has a First Amendment right to enter the White House."

"Today's decision reaffirms that no one, not even the president, is above the law. The White House surely hoped that expelling a reporter would deter forceful questioning, but the court's ruling will have the opposite effect," the ACLU wrote on Twitter. "The freedom of the press is a bedrock principle, and our democracy is strengthened when journalists challenge our leaders rather than defer to them."

While the judge—who is a Trump appointee—didn't rule on the underlying case, his decision to grant CNN's emergency motion was viewed as an important victory for the organization and the American media as a whole.

"We are gratified with this result and we look forward to a full resolution in the coming days," CNN and Acosta said in a statement. "Our sincere thanks to all who have supported not just CNN, but a free, strong, and independent American press."

ABC News

✔@ABC

"Let's go back to work."

CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta thanks colleagues, judge following decision ordering White House to immediately restore his press pass. https://abcn.ws/2DFc6Lr 

1,504

9:12 PM - Nov 16, 2018

s work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License