Judge Skeptical On Trump's Press Ban
When it comes to his attempted ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, it seems President Donald Trump may be his own downfall.
On Thursday, as U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly, a Trump appointee, weighed whether to enter a preliminary injunction on the ban, the judge sounded highly skeptical of government lawyers who argued that Trump only denied the outlets access because of national security concerns and his concerns over their professional journalistic standards.
In September, and in several interviews since he announced the ban, Trump admitted publicly that it was “really just cumulative stories over the last few years” that prompted the ban.
“I do think it poses an issue that is unusual in this case,” Kelly said Thursday. “Here you have the decision-maker [on the ban] saying publicly and on several occasions, ‘Hey, I’m taking this action and this is why’ and then the government is coming to court saying, ‘No, it’s actually something else.’”
Kelly put a temporary restraining order on the ban last month after finding that it was likely unconstitutional. If he grants the preliminary injunction, government attorneys told the court on Thursday that they intend to appeal.
Theodore Boutrous, an attorney for the media outlets, told Kelly the administration has been engaged in a “sham process.” He urged the judge to strike the ban down for good and to see through the government’s claims that the outlets had violated White House standards.
“As the decision-maker, the top of the heap, he made his decision. He explained it and made it clear that he was making this decision — the ban — in order to punish speech he didn’t like because of its viewpoint,” Boutrous said.
Kelly said he would issue a ruling before Tuesday.
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