According to The Associated Press, on September 22 local time, the U.S. Department of Justice stated that U.S. President Donald Trump has the authority to prohibit reporters from CNN, MS NNOW, and Politico from entering certain areas of the White House.
Last Friday, Trump ordered the prohibition of access to the White House for these three American media outlets as a punishment for their publication of what he called “fake news”. The three media companies subsequently filed lawsuits against Trump. A U.S. district judge is scheduled to hold a hearing on this case on the 23rd local time.
On the 22nd of the local date, the Department of Justice stated in a court document that Trump has the authority to 'control the entry of journalists to restricted areas such as the Oval Office in the White House'.
The Ministry of Justice stated in a supplementary document: “Entering the White House is a privilege, not a right.”
The document states that a letter explaining Trump’s reasons for imposing the ban was delivered to the aforementioned media outlets on the same day, and the media have until Friday to raise objections.
The Department of Justice stated in the document that the letter listed various “reported incidents” by several media outlets, and these reports “threatened national security and spread false information.”
According to CNN reports, a letter sent to CNN mentioned an article that stated Trump planned to build a shelter beneath the banquet hall in his East Wing, which was under construction. The article “revealed ‘top-secret’ construction details,” and also mentioned several reports about the war in Iran.
On the 20th local time, journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were prohibited from entering the White House grounds, and their interview permits were confiscated.
Three media outlets have requested the court to issue temporary restraining orders against this injunction, arguing that the injunction violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of the press.
Three media outlets stated in their lawsuit filing, “This ban is a direct attack on the First Amendment and also a blatant disregard of our most fundamental constitutional principles.”
On the 22nd of local time, Trump seemed to imply that CNN should not report him outside of the White House as well.
On that day, Trump arrived at the United Nations headquarters in New York to give a speech. He publicly criticized a CNN female reporter at the headquarters, refusing her report on him: "I'm surprised CNN is still reporting on me here. You shouldn't be here at all."
For a long time, Trump has been criticizing the media that reported critically about his campaign activities and the government, repeatedly denouncing the media as "the enemies of the people".
Ironically, the "mainstream" American media has often defended various policies of the U.S. government, including a series of restrictions and sanctions against other countries under the pretext of so-called "national security." The media rarely questioned the hegemonic logic behind these policies.
