CNN Threatens Fresh Legal Action Against Trump Administration Over Air Force One Access
CNN has threatened to return to court against the administration of US President Donald Trump over the continued exclusion of its journalists from Air Force One and the Oval Office.
The international news network issued the warning on Monday, demanding that the administration end restrictions preventing its reporters from covering the president aboard the presidential aircraft and in the Oval Office.
In a letter to the US Department of Justice, CNN’s outside counsel, Ted Boutrous, described the restrictions as “mistaken, counterproductive, and unlawful,” according to a report published by CNN on Tuesday.
Boutrous reportedly asked the department to confirm by Thursday evening that the White House would abandon any policy excluding CNN journalists from the two presidential locations.
The dispute follows Trump’s decision on September 18 to bar CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House. The three media organisations subsequently filed a lawsuit against the administration and regained some access after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction.
However, CNN has continued to face restrictions preventing its journalists from boarding Air Force One as part of the White House press pool, a rotating group of reporters responsible for covering the president and sharing information with other journalists.
The latest incident occurred over the weekend when CNN was excluded from the press pool accompanying Trump on trips to Georgia and Florida.
Four other major American television networks — ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC — reportedly declined to take CNN’s place, resulting in the president travelling without coverage from the mainstream television networks.
Instead, conservative broadcaster Real America’s Voice covered the trips after receiving a slot as the secondary television representative in the press pool, a position it has occupied on occasions when CNN was excluded.
The US Department of Justice had not responded to a request for comment on the matter at the time of the report.
In his letter, Boutrous argued that Air Force One and the Oval Office were central locations for presidential interactions with journalists.
He cited figures indicating that Trump had answered more than 4,700 questions at the two locations and on the White House tarmac since the beginning of his second term, compared with approximately 150 questions answered in the White House press briefing room.
CNN was scheduled to serve as the primary television representative in the press pool during Trump’s activities in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.
However, the network was excluded from the pool covering the president’s planned trip to South Carolina, suggesting that the restrictions on its participation in presidential travel would continue.
Real America’s Voice was scheduled to serve as the secondary television representative for both the Washington-based activities and the out-of-town trip.
The latest development marks another phase in the ongoing legal dispute between the Trump administration and the three media organisations over press access to the White House and presidential activities.
