CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta asked three questions at the White House press briefing Tuesday afternoon, weeks after the White House revoked his press credentials for refusing to give up the microphone to an intern.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called on Acosta Tuesday afternoon during the briefing she led. Acosta asked an initial question and was granted two follow-ups.
Acosta’s permanent White House press credentials were temporarily suspended in early November after he refused to yield the microphone when a female White House intern tried to take it from him at a press conference following the midterm elections. President Trump had indicated he was ready to move on to another reporter, but Acosta appeared to swat away the intern when she tried to take the microphone back.
Sanders released a formal response to the episode on Twitter.
President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern…
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018
CNN later sued the White House over the revocation, arguing Acosta’s First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights had been violated. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that the White House had to immediately restore Acosta’s “hard pass,” which allows reporters to get on the White House grounds to do their reporting.
The judge ruled that CNN demonstrated that Acosta’s right to due process had been violated when the White House did not give him an opportunity to appeal the administration’s decision to revoke his pass. The judge also claimed that Acosta suffered irreparable harm in that he was unable to attend possible newsworthy press conferences and events while his pass was revoked.
In response to the CNN lawsuit, the White House said it would create an established set of rules to maintain decorum and order during briefings and other press events. The new rules stipulate that each journalist will be permitted to ask a “single question” before yielding the floor to other reporters. Any follow-up questions are only allowed “at the discretion of the president or other White House official taking questions.”
The Tuesday press conference was not the first time Acosta has had the privilege of asking a question since his pass was restored. Acosta asked Trump a question last week as the latter departed the White House on the South Lawn.
