- Six private citizens have filed a federal lawsuit in New York against President Donald Trump and senior White House aides, arguing that revoking media credentials violates the public's First Amendment right to receive independent reporting on federal leadership.
- Filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute and Yale Law School's Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic, the citizens represent news audiences who rely on diverse White House coverage to inform their professional work, teaching, and scholarship.
- The legal action seeks a declaration that retaliatory press bans are unconstitutional and requests a broad injunction preventing White House officials from restricting media access based on critical or disfavored reporting.
- The complaint details how White House restrictions have affected several major news organizations, noting ongoing court disputes involving outlets such as CNN, MS NOW, Politico, The Associated Press, and The New York Times.
- The Trump administration responded to the lawsuit in a statement attributed to an unidentified White House official: “No person may demand access to the Oval Office." It said media that peddle "misinformation and defamation are completely capable of reporting their manufactured stories from directly outside.”
IN FULL
