A federal judge ruled Tuesday the White House has to allow the Associated Press to take part in presidential pool coverage, including restoring access to Air Force One and other areas where only certain journalists are allowed to enter to speak to President Trump.
DC US District Judge Trevor McFadden — nominated to the federal bench by Trump in 2017 — promptly stayed his own order for five days, giving the administration until Sunday to appeal to a higher court before the ruling takes effect.
The White House implemented the ban after the AP refused to use the term “Gulf of America” in its coverage after the president renamed the Gulf of Mexico upon taking office Jan. 20. The outlet had argued that as a global outlet, it had the prerogative to continue using the “Gulf of Mexico” name.
The wire service immediately protested the ban and its reporters frequently showed up on their scheduled pooling days at Mar-a-Lago and other limited-access events at the White House — such as those held in the East Room and Oval Office — only to be turned away by Trump staffers.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had argued getting to cover the president is a “privilege” and that the press office had the right to ban outlets that did not comply with the government’s new title for the Gulf.
But the court ruled Tuesday that although the White House is not mandated to provide access to every event, it does have the responsibility to allow journalists the same access as similar outlets — even if they disagree with their views.
“The Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less,” McFadden wrote.
Hundreds of reporters have a so-called “hard pass” which allows access to the White House briefing room and press working area.
A second, more limited group of journalists — referred to as the pool — is granted access to more intimate or restricted events with greater opportunity to ask the president face-to-face questions.
The pool used to be decided by the White House Correspondents Association, until the Trump administration took it over to hand-pick which journalists they could add to — or remove from — the pool.
The AP previously had access to the president’s limited events every day alongside fellow wires Reuters and Bloomberg. Under the Trump administration, only one wire service is allowed in the pool each day.
After the ban, the AP was not even allowed into the wire rotation.
“The Court does not order the Government to grant the AP permanent access to the Oval Office, the East Room, or any other media event. It does not bestow special treatment upon the AP. Indeed, the AP is not necessarily entitled to the ‘first in line every time’ permanent press pool access it enjoyed under the WHCA. But it cannot be treated worse than its peer wire services either.”
The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Post.
