Judge orders restoration of CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s White House press passes

CNN, MS NOW and Politico have obtained a temporary order requiring their permanent White House press credentials to be restored. Judge Timothy Kelly granted the request on September 24 and directed that the revoked passes be returned and reactivated immediately. The measure lasts fourteen days. [1]

That changes the position since the September 23 hearing, which initially ended without a ruling. There is now an enforceable order, although the lawsuit has not been finally decided. [1] [3]

Procedure is decisive

Kelly finds that the outlets are likely to succeed on their Fifth Amendment procedural due process claim. He cites binding decisions on permanent press passes and the requirement for advance notice and an opportunity to be heard. [1]

The administration did not dispute that these steps had not taken place before revocation. It relied on a subsequent opportunity to respond and on national security. Kelly finds the circumstances in the current record insufficiently exceptional to make a response after exclusion adequate. He also finds no sufficiently established prior standard governing conduct that would lead to revocation. [1]

This is a provisional assessment of the likelihood of success and the need for temporary protection. The order does not finally decide the separate First Amendment claims concerning press and speech freedoms. [1]

An order does not itself establish restored access

According to CNN, reporter Betsy Klein and a photojournalist were still denied entry on Thursday morning, including after 9 a.m. in Washington. One CNN producer was admitted after 6 a.m. CNN also reported refusals involving MS NOW and Politico. That reporting, updated at 9:18 a.m. EDT, does not establish that access had been fully restored. CNN is itself a party to the case. [2]