Judge says White House can't ban Associated Press from Oval Office, Air Force One

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the White House cannot bar Associated Press reporters and photographers from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other tightly controlled spaces where a handful of other media outlets are admitted to cover President Donald Trump.

District Court Judge Trevor McFadden said the White House's blocking of AP journalists from those secure spaces after the wire service refused to wholeheartedly adopt his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico is "contrary to the First Amendment" of the U.S. Constitution.

McFadden, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, paused his preliminary injunction order requiring the White House to restore access to AP journalists from taking effect until Sunday.

The delay gives the White House time to appeal his ruling, which was issued in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., after the AP sued to regain its access.

The White House in mid-February "sharply curtailed" the wire service's access to media events with Trump after he summarily renamed the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America," and the AP did not adopt that change in covering stories related to that body of water, McFadden noted in his ruling.

The AP in January said it will refer to the Gulf of Mexico "by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences."

The AP Stylebook, which provides guidelines for editorial style, spelling and terminology, is used by many media outlets, including CNBC. The service's articles and photographs are used by many of those same outlets and others.

"The Court does not order the Government to grant the AP permanent access to the Oval Office, the East Room, or any other media event," McFadden wrote in his order.

"It does not bestow special treatment upon the AP. Indeed, the AP is not necessarily entitled to the 'first in line every time' permanent press pool access it enjoyed under the WHCA [White House Correspondents' Association]," the judge wrote.

"The Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints," McFadden wrote.

"The Constitution requires no less," the judge wrote.

The ruling comes almost five years after the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., upheld a lower court ruling that blocked the White House's then-press secretary from suspending the press credentials of Brian Karem, a Playboy magazine correspondent, for a confrontation with Trump ally Sebastian Gorka in 2019.

In 2018, a district court blocked the White House from revoking the press pass of then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta for refusing to immediately yield a microphone after asking questions of Trump and getting no answers.

The AP's reporters and photographers have long been part of the small and highly select press pool of journalists who attend most White House events in the Oval Office and other small spaces and travel with the president.

Julie Pace, the AP's executive editor, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published March 26, wrote, "For anyone who thinks The Associated Press' lawsuit against President Trump's White House is about the name of a body of water, think bigger."

"It's really about whether the government can control what you say," Pace wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on McFadden's ruling.

 AP spokesperson Lauren Easton, in a statement, said, "We are gratified by the court's decision."

"Today's ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation," Easton said. "This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the U.S. Constitution."

"We look forward to continuing to provide factual, nonpartisan and independent coverage of the White House for billions of people around the world," she said.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed two legal briefs supporting the AP's lawsuit. The first brief argued that the ban on the AP violated the First Amendment because it discriminated against the wire service based on so-called viewpoint discrimination, which occurs when a government takes action against a speaker because of the views they express.

McFadden's order cited the Knight First Amendment Institute's second brief, which addresses the historical basis for the ban on viewpoint discrimination.

"This is an important decision," said Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the institute.

"The First Amendment means the White House can't ban news outlets from covering the president simply because they don't parrot his preferred language," Fallow said.