Three US news outlets President Donald Trump banned from the White House — CNN, MS NOW, and Politico — are filing a critical First Amendment lawsuit to restore their access.
The emergency request is set to go before a federal judge in the DC District Court and could result in hearings and legal arguments from the administration as soon as this week.
“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the outlets said in a draft of their lawsuit, which is asking the court to act immediately to revive their journalists’ access to the White House.
The lawsuit will allege Trump’s ban violates the First Amendment and the Constitution’s due process protections.
Joint statement from CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO: pic.twitter.com/ZBt2qioLD8
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) September 21, 2026
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the three news organizations said in a joint statement on Monday.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the news outlets said. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
The standoff is one of the administration’s most high-profile attacks on the US press to date, with implications extending far beyond the three banned news outlets. Trump said last Friday, when he announced the ban, that he might add others to the list.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters are unable to access their workspaces inside the White House. The outlets are also blocked from using their television equipment and camera locations on the grounds.
“The ban inflicts an injury on all news media organizations—which now risk a similar fate if they engage in fact-based, independent reporting the President deems insufficiently favorable,” the outlets said in a draft of a request for a temporary restraining order that is expected to be filed on Monday.
“And the public at large suffers for however long the unconstitutional ban restricts access to current and complete information about the government.”
Some first amendment and legal experts have already widely called the ban unconstitutional and condemned it as abrupt, discriminatory and harmful to the media’s ability to cover national issues.
The lawsuit from the outlets is expected to rely heavily on the vague reasoning for revoking access that Trump gave on Friday, saying he didn’t like “negative stories.”
Trump announces he is banning CNN, Politico, and MSNOW from the White House pic.twitter.com/6uvRqaHfxD
— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 18, 2026
Source: Agencies