Trump’s ban on CNN, Politico and MS Now likely unconstitutional, judge rules in restoring temporary access

Good morning and welcome to the US politics live blog.

We start now with breaking news from the late night hours: a federal judge has temporarily restored White House access to journalists from CNN, Politico and MS Now after president Donald Trump banned them due to their coverage of his administration.

US district judge Tim Kelly issued his order in a lawsuit that the news organizations filed ‌contesting the ban that the president announced on ۱۸ September, saying it was ⁠likely unconstitutional.

Kelly ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the outlets’ press passes and issued a temporary restraining order that will be in effect for ۱۴ days. Such orders are typically designed to preserve the status quo pending a closer review of the case by the court.

In other news today:

Key events

Politico, CNN reporter blocked from White House despite judge’s ruling: report

Yesterday evening, after briefly taking the case under consideration, a federal judge ordered the White House to temporarily restore access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, the three outlets the president banned from the building via a social media post last week.

White House security may not have gotten the memo, according to a new story from Politico.

The outlet wrote this morning that a reporter showing up for work was blocked from entering the White House on Thursday and had his press credentials seized. The alleged denial of entry came after a federal judge instructed the Trump administration last night to allow the news outlets their usual access while their lawsuit against the president over the ban moves forward.

The Associated Press also reported that a CNN journalist told the outlet she was denied access to the White House on Thursday morning.

Ahead of talks with Xi, Trump points to AI as major subject

President Trump teased in a social media post this morning that artificial intelligence would be a major part of his talks today with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his state visit to Washington.

He also suggested that he would avoid entertaining any kind of agreement between the two nations limiting AI development.

“A big day with President Xi of China,” Trump wrote in the post to his personal social media platform. “Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China’s position also. Our guardrail is the DOJ! President DJT.”

(Super intelligence is the term Trump has been pushing to refer to artificial intelligence. He pitched the language earlier this week in a tangent during his speech to the world leaders at the United Nations. It’s unclear at this point if anybody is going to take him up on it.)

After an unusually warm red carpet welcome ceremony on the tarmac yesterday, Trump is scheduled to receive Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the White House South Portico. The pair will deliver remarks, exchange gifts, and watch a military review before a busy day of talks and diplomatic pageantry.

Donald Trump has been raging about a story first reported by MS Now on Wednesday that he is seeking to rename the Ford Theatre in Washington DC, a site infamous for the assassination of president Abraham Lincoln, after himself.

Last night he posted on Truth Social about the news item, blaming “Dumocrats” for the “ridiculous lie.”

This morning, hours after the late night ruling from the judge that temporarily reinstated CNN, Politico, and MS Now, Trump (again) said:

The Dumocrats make up lie after lie. The new one is that I want Ford’s Theater named after me. That’s where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Who would want that? I don’t! It is FAKE NEWS started by MSDNC AND CNN.

This is his first mention of the day of his lesser-favored media outlets. He has not acknowledged the judge’s ruling to restore them access to the White House – yet. We’ll bring you more lines as they come in.

Some more background information on this ongoing situation between the Trump administration and the White House press correspondents:

The three outlets sued Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington on Monday, saying the ban violated the US constitution’s first amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights. They requested a temporary restraining order that would immediately reinstate their White House access while their legal challenge plays out.

Trump had said on social media that the three outlets “shouldn’t be ⁠able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES,” and justice department lawyers had ‌sought to justify the ban on national security grounds.

A Justice Department lawyer told the judge the Trump administration provided a sufficient explanation for the revocation of the press passes in letters sent to the news outlets on Tuesday. But the judge signaled skepticism of that argument, noting that the letters were sent after the revocation occurred and the lawsuit was filed.

In a legal filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that access to the ‌White House is a privilege, not an entitlement, and that the president has the authority to suspend access by news organizations.