The exchange came after Trump announced Friday, Sept. 18, that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico “effective immediately” from the White House, conjuring up his familiar allegation that they are “fake news.”
On Monday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued Trump and three White House officials over his ban, alleging it violates the First Amendment and “brazenly discriminates based on editorial viewpoint.” Also Monday, in response to Trump’s ban of the news outlets, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and Fox News — which along with CNN provide the White House TV pool coverage — announced they were suspending coverage of the president at events because of his ban on the news outlets.
The White House TV pool consortium, which is chaired by Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, continued to be suspended Wednesday.
In a court filing late Tuesday, the White House — represented by the Justice Department lawyers — filed a response to the lawsuit, defending the president’s ban of the news orgs.
