A federal judge late Tuesday night issued an order indefinitely blocking the White House from banning three media outlets from the White House, as President Donald Trump announced he would in mid-September.
The preliminary injunction by Judge Timothy Kelly in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., extends an existing block on Trump's ban of MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House.
Kelly, in a written opinion, said the three outlets were likely to succeed on a claim in their lawsuit challenging the ban that they were denied due process by Trump having summarily ordered them barred from the White House without a chance to argue against that action first.
The judge said the outlets were also likely to succeed on two First Amendment claims in their civil suit.
"Still, no one should interpret the Court's decision to suggest that President Trump's concerns about accuracy and fairness in the media's reporting are unfounded, or that the government is powerless when its true aim is to protect national security when classified information is unlawfully disclosed," Kelly said.