President Donald Trump scored another legal victory over the mainstream media as a federal appeals court temporarily halted a lower court ruling that required Associated Press journalists to be granted access to White House media events.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit blocked an order issued by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden on April 8. McFadden had ruled that the Trump administration must allow AP reporters access to locations including the Oval Office, Air Force One, and White House press events while the AP’s lawsuit proceeded.
“We grant in part the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal. The White House is likely to succeed on the merits because these restricted presidential spaces are not First Amendment fora opened for private speech and discussion,” the appeals panel said in its 2-1 ruling.
“The White House therefore retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted. Moreover, without a stay, the government will suffer irreparable harm because the injunction impinges on the President’s independence and control over his private workspaces,” the ruling continued.
The Associated Press sued the administration after its reporters were barred from White House coverage, allegedly over the outlet’s refusal to adopt the administration’s preferred naming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” AP attorneys argued that the restriction violated the First Amendment by infringing on freedom of the press.
Attorneys for the Trump administration countered that the president has broad discretion in determining media access to secure government spaces. They contended that McFadden’s ruling encroached on the president’s authority to control admittance to sensitive areas of the executive branch.
“The Constitution does not prohibit the President from considering a journalist’s prior coverage in evaluating how much access he will grant that journalist,” lawyers for the administration went on to say in a court filing.
“On April 16, the AP accused the Trump administration of defying the court order by continuing to exclude its journalists from some events and then limiting access to Trump for all news wires, including Reuters and Bloomberg. Reuters and the AP both issued statements denouncing the new policy, which puts wire services in a larger rotation with about 30 other newspaper and print outlets,” Reuters reported.
