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CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued President Donald Trump and other members of his administration on \u200bMonday for banning them from White House grounds, saying it violated their rights to free speech and a free press under the US Constitution\u2019s First Amendment.<\/strong><\/p>\n The news outlets are seeking a \u200ctemporary restraining order to block Trump\u2019s action in federal court in Washington, D.C., and could see emergency hearings in the case as soon as this week.<\/p>\n \u201cLeft unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public\u2019s right to independent journalism free from government interference,\u201d the outlets wrote in a joint statement. \u201cThe government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump announced the ban on Friday on social media and defended it in another post on Monday, claiming without evidence that news media posed a national \u200bsecurity threat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS,\u201d Trump wrote on Monday. \u201cIt is a threat \u200bto our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!\u201d<\/p>\n Past presidents have battled with the press, but Trump\u2019s campaign against the media has been unprecedented. He has upended \u2060decades of tradition by denying basic access to many major news organizations, launching personal attacks on journalists for their reporting and elevating new media outlets seen as more sympathetic to the administration. He has also filed \u200ba number of lawsuits against news organizations.<\/p>\n CNN is one of the five news organizations \u2013 along with ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC \u2013 that make up the primary White House television pool. They share the costs of covering \u200bthe president, take turns organizing coverage and share the footage with outlets around the country.<\/p>\n CNN, which had been scheduled to cover Trump\u2019s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, was not able to provide a pool feed.<\/p>\n In response, the other major TV networks have suspended presidential pool coverage, effectively eliminating the most important video source for White House events.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is to advise that, effective today (Monday), the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of \u200bthe President,\u201d Bryan Boughton, who runs the Fox News Washington bureau and is the current TV pool chair, said in an email Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cThis follows the White House\u2019s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,\u201d \u200bBoughton added. \u201cThere will be no replacement pool put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018BAN ON THE FREE PRESS\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump\u2019s latest move comes as his fellow Republicans seek to defend their narrow majorities in Congress in the November midterm elections. Polls show the public souring on Republicans \u200cand Trump\u2019s own approval \u2060ratings stand near historic lows.<\/p>\n On Saturday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico said their journalists were turned away from the White House grounds and had their press credentials confiscated. Over the weekend, they stationed journalists across the street from the White House and continued coverage.<\/p>\n Trump on Friday addressed what he called his \u201cban on the free press\u201d at an Oval Office event, and said no particular incident provoked the move.<\/p>\n Asked what other news organizations could be targeted, Trump cited the New York Times and Washington Post as \u201cfake news\u201d but said they had not been removed.<\/p>\n The Associated Press, the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association and others have criticized Trump\u2019s ban, citing the fundamental American right \u200bto free speech and calling for access to be \u200bimmediately restored. The AP filed its own lawsuit \u2060after being barred along with Reuters last year from the group of reporters that cover the president\u2019s daily movements.<\/p>\n During his first term in office, Trump sought to revoke or suspend White House credentials of two correspondents for CNN and Playboy magazine, but federal judges ordered their passes restored.<\/p>\n LONGTIME PRESS CRITIC<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump long has been a critic of \u200bthe press, rising to fame as a New York real estate developer widely covered in local tabloids, and then as a reality television personality.<\/p>\n He has stepped \u200bup his assault on the \u2060media since winning a second term as president in 2024, suing multiple outlets and repeatedly urging broadcasters to drop programs he deems unfair.<\/p>\n Trump has also called on the Federal Communications Commission to strip disfavored broadcast stations of their licenses, including several owned by or affiliated with ABC. Disney owns ABC.<\/p>\n David Ellison, son of Trump ally and Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, took control of Paramount and its CBS news unit, leading to a controversial shakeup at \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d the \u2060most popular \u200bUS TV news magazine.<\/p>\n Ellison is now seeking to acquire CNN parent Warner Bros, in a move approved by the Trump administration. A \u200bnumber of US states have sued to block the merger. Reuters has reported a settlement is under consideration, and Bloomberg News said on Monday a settlement had been reached, citing a person familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n