The White House will pull CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials again after a 14-day temporary court-order expires, according to the network.
“Friday’s court ruling means that a temporary restraining order is in effect for 14 days. But [White House] officials sent Acosta a letter stating that his press pass is set to be suspended again once the restraining order expires,” reports CNN’s Brian Stelter.
Friday’s court ruling means that a temporary restraining order is in effect for 14 days. But W.H. officials sent @Acosta a letter stating that his press pass is set to be suspended again once the restraining order expires… https://t.co/yML7r7ymmM
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 19, 2018
CNN said in a statement that rescinding Acosta’s press pass again would threaten “all journalists and news organizations.”
“The White House is continuing to violate the First and 5th Amendments of the Constitution,” the network said, adding: “These actions threaten all journalists and news organizations. Jim Acosta and CNN will continue to report the news about the White House and the President.“
Acosta’s press credentials were pulled after a heated exchange with President Trump in which the CNN Senior White House correspondent refused to relinquish the microphone – batting a White House intern’s arm away as she attempted to take it from him.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly last Friday granted CNN’s request to restore Acosta’s hard press pass through a 14-day temporary injunction that expires on Nov. 30.
The ruling was limited, however, with Kelly stating that only Acosta’s Fifth Amendment rights to due process were violated. The judge, who was appointed by Trump, did not issue a ruling on whether the correspondent’s First Amendment rights were violated.
“I want to emphasize the very limited nature of this ruling,” Kelly said Friday. –The Hill
Following the decision, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that officials would “temporarily” reinstate Acosta’s hard pass, telegraphing that it would likely be pulled again once the ruling expired.
“Today, the court made clear that there is no absolute First Amendment right to access the White House,” Sanders said. “In response to the court, we will temporarily reinstate the reporter’s hard pass. We will also further develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future.”
In a Sunday interview with Fox News‘s Chris Wallace, President Trump had a few ideas of his own on Acosta, including throwing him out.
“I think one of the things we’ll do is maybe turn the camera off that faces them because then they don’t have any air time, although I’ll probably be sued for that and maybe, you know, win or lose it, who knows,” said Trump. “I mean, with this stuff you never know what’s going to happen.”
Calling Acosta “unbelievably rude to [White House press secretary] Sarah Huckabee, who’s a wonderful woman,” Trump said his administration is currently formulating “rules and regulations” for White House reporters. “And if he misbehaves, we’ll throw him out or we’ll stop the news conference,” the president added. –Fox News
via RSS https://ift.tt/2Q8oGIP Tyler Durden