White House reporters from outlets banned by Trump regain access after hours-long delay | CBC News

Judge grants temporary order, expresses skepticism of national security rationale raised by White House

Reporters from three news outlets banned from the White House by U.S. President Donald Trump were back on its grounds on Thursday afternoon, hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to reinstate their access.

The news outlets had asked in a court filing Thursday for an immediate hearing to address their inability to access the White House grounds earlier in the day. The filing said a Secret Service agent had confiscated the journalists' credentials.

But the delay caused speculation that the Trump administration was defying a court order, which it has been accused of doing in several cases.

The news organizations are seeking to cover the state visit of China's Xi Jinping, where press freedoms have been curtailed on the mainland and in Hong Kong.

The ban prompted other media outlets to take action in solidarity. The U.S. network press pool — consisting of five major networks, including CNN — has suspended coverage of Trump pool events pending further notice.

Kelly — nominated to the bench by Trump in 2017 — heard arguments on Wednesday from the opposing sides.

Kelly rejected the White House's claim that revoking the press passes was necessary for national security.

"The court is skeptical … that defendants' interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of plaintiffs' hard passes."

Ted Boutrous, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, argued in the hearing that there was an urgent need for renewed access, saying that the ban caused irreparable harm to the outlets at a time of momentous news events.

"Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right," Velchik said.

In response, Boutrous said, "Suddenly it's a national security case," arguing that the president brought up that point only after the lawsuit was filed.