US media in the White House: You can go back in

rtr/taz | A US federal court has lifted President Donald Trump's ban on journalists from the media companies CNN, MS Now and Politico from entering the White House. The exclusion of the three media outlets was probably unconstitutional, said District Judge Tim Kelly on Thursday. The decision is a serious setback for Trump in his conflict with the press. The media companies had sued against the ban announced on September 18th. Trump had said that the three media outlets should not constantly spread “fiction and lies.” Justice Department lawyers justified the ban on national security grounds.

The broadcasters CNN and MS Now as well as the magazine Politico filed a lawsuit on Monday to protect their freedom of the press enshrined in the US Constitution. According to CNN, the presidential office revoked the accreditations without notice or due process because the government disliked the reporting. Trump rejected the accusation of an attack on the free press. Rather, he is taking action against fake news that poses a threat to national security.

The four other TV channels that are represented in the American news pool, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News, which was previously particularly close to Trump, had also refused to take over CNN's unexpectedly vacant place in the rotation for reasons of solidarity.

"The public has a significant interest in receiving accurate and independent information about their government. No government should restrict a news organization because it disapproves of its reporting," the members of the news pool - Fox, ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC - said in a joint statement on Monday.

In the past, Trump has repeatedly tried to exclude unwanted media or journalists. Last year he banned the AP news agency from traveling because it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”. He also threatened ‌on Friday to exclude other ‌media outlets such as the New York Times and the Washington Post.