New York/Washington (AP/dpa) — US media outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico said Monday they’ve notified US President Donald Trump’s administration that they’re filing a lawsuit over being denied White House access.

The three outlets made the announcement in a joint statement posted on X, two days after their reporters were blocked from the White House and prevented from doing their jobs. The reporters' entry badges were disabled on Saturday, a day after Trump had suddenly announced he was barring the outlets because of reporting he found to be “fake news.”

A test of First Amendment protections

The actions were a clear escalation of Trump’s long-running efforts — in the courts and through administrative action — to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable, and were the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States.

Trump News Media — CNN Senior White House Reporter Betsy Klein, carrying an empty credential holder after having her credential revoked following President Donald Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico, walks near the White House in Washington.(Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP)

White House reporters from the two cable networks — Betsy Klein of CNN and Akayla Gardner of MS NOW — went live to report they’d been turned away, their press badges deactivated, when arriving for their jobs at the White House. Soon after, Politico said its White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett was denied entry to the White House complex by the Secret Service, who "confiscated the pass that allows her access to the White House," Politico's global editor-in-chief, Jonathan Greenberger, said in an email sent to the entire newsroom. He said Politico stands "by her and all reporters here covering the White House."

“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the outlets said in a joint statement posted early Monday on X. “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

Trump News Media — MS NOW White House reporter Akayla Gardner works near the White House complex after being denied entry following President Donald Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico.(Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP)

On Monday morning, the banned TV networks were reporting from an intersection just outside the White House complex. CNN, meanwhile, was removed from its pool duties, which are shared by the five major networks ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News and CNN. It had been scheduled to cover the president's trip to New York for the UN General Assembly. In an email to members, the TV pool wrote there would be no replacement coverage following the White House actions.

“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” said the email, seen by The Associated Press. “This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place." CNN's chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, explained on air that this meant: “When the president does anything today, there will be no TV camera with the president that is broadcasting and sharing this footage" to the viewing public.

Fake News "has grown like Cancer", Trump claims

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. But on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote Monday morning that he “cherished” what he called a free press. “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” the president said in his post. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America. It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”

In his second term, Trump and his Republican administration have upped the ante and punished certain media outlets, both in the courtroom and through regulatory action. Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms — insulting them in briefings or in his recent speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Lots of solidarity from other journalists

The WHCA’s president, Jacqui Heinrich, called on the Trump administration to immediately restore the three outlets’ access. “The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future,” Heinrich said. “The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably.”

Trump News Media — The CNN office at the White House is seen empty following President Donald Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico, on September 19, 2026.(Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP)

Other renowned media organizations such as the Washington Post, the Associated Press (AP) and the New York Times expressed their solidarity in their own statements.

Trump's approval ratings are poor just under seven weeks before the crucial parliamentary elections. Above all, the protracted war in Iran - which Trump had originally intended to limit to a few weeks - is drawing criticism. The Republicans are seeking to defend their majorities in both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the midterm elections in November.

Author: By JOCELYN NOVECK

CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue over denied White House access

By JOCELYN NOVECK