U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled Friday that the White House immediately restore CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s “hard pass” which allows him report on White House grounds.
The ruling means that the White House must return Acosta’s pass at once, though further court proceedings are to begin as early as Monday.
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Kelly found that CNN demonstrated that Acosta’s Fifth Amendment right to due process had been violated by not granting him a process to appeal to the White House its decision to suspend his pass. Kelly also said that Acosta suffered irreparable harm in that he was unable to attend any possible newsworthy events on White House grounds since his pass was suspended. Kelly further said that the White House’s complaint that Acosta was forbidding its wish to hold orderly press events was outweighed by Acosta’s right to due process and the public’s interest.
Both parties are scheduled to submit reports to the court on Monday on the matter.
Kelly said his decision did not determine whether CNN or Acosta’s First Amendment rights had been violated, an issue that will be explored in future proceedings.
CNN argued in court Wednesday that the White House had discriminated against CNN correspondent Jim Acosta by suspending his hard pass, which allows him access to the White House grounds for reporting.
The Justice Department, representing the White House, rebutted the claim, saying that President Trump has complete discretion in which journalists are credentialed to be on the White House premise.
Theodore Boutrous, the lead lawyer for CNN, had asked the court for a preliminary decision that would force the White House to give Acosta his pass back until they can reconvene for a fuller ruling on whether the White House had violated the law.
Much of CNN’s case rested on a 1977 federal court case, Sherrill v. Knight, which ruled the Secret Service is required to have an official process for granting hard passes to reporters and that reporters who have their passes denied or revoked have to be given a reason why and a chance to appeal.
The Justice Department’s lead counsel, James Burnham, argued that the ruling merely granted journalists more “process,” but did not give reporters the right to have access to the White House.
CNN filed its lawsuit on Tuesday, alleging that the White House violated the First Amendment when it suspended Acosta’s hard press pass.
“This morning, CNN filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in DC District Court,” CNN’s top executive, Jeff Zucker, had said in a statement. “The White House has violated CNN and Jim Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press and Fifth Amendment rights to due process. We are demanding the immediate return of Jim’s White House credential.”
The lawsuit names a Secret Service agent “John Doe” as a defendant for allegedly having blocked Acosta’s access to the White House grounds.
The White House said last week that it was indefinitely suspending Acosta’s credentials after a heated exchange between him and Trump at a press conference. After Acosta was called on to ask a question, Trump attempted to move on to another reporter, but Acosta initially refused to relinquish the microphone to a White House intern.
