CNN, MS NOW Shut Out of Xi State Dinner Hours After Judge Orders Access Restored
Journalists from CNN and MS NOW were prevented from covering US President Donald Trump’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, despite a federal judge having ordered the Trump administration to restore their access to the White House.
The latest dispute came only hours after US District Judge Timothy Kelly directed the administration to return press access to journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, three organisations that had been barred from the White House following Trump’s decision last week.
CNN said the White House eventually allowed the network to cover Xi’s arrival, but restricted the assignment to a photojournalist and an audio technician. The network’s reporter and producer were excluded.
MS NOW also reported that its White House correspondent, Laura Barrón-López, was unable to gain entry to cover Xi’s arrival for the state dinner, despite applying for the necessary credentials.
Barrón-López reportedly asked a White House staff member why she had been denied access and was told to speak with Steven, apparently referring to White House communications director Steven Cheung.
Xi arrived at the White House with his wife, Peng Liyuan, for the dinner hosted by Trump.
The White House streamed the arrival online, while major US television networks declined to provide live coverage of the event in solidarity with CNN, which was part of the broadcast pool.
The confrontation followed an earlier attempt by journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico to return to the White House after Kelly ordered their access restored.
The journalists said they were initially turned away, with some having their press badges confiscated by Secret Service agents.
Lawyers representing the three organisations subsequently told the court that the administration had repeatedly failed to comply with the judge’s order.
The White House later maintained that it had begun restoring access shortly after receiving the court directive.
According to a sworn statement filed by White House press operations director Micah Stopperich, officials were informed at 7:10am that access was to be restored. The process of reactivating the badges began at 7:25am, while the Secret Service indicated that the credentials had been reactivated by 9:07am.
Confiscated badges were later returned to the press entrance for collection.
Trump had announced the ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico on September 19, accusing the organisations of publishing what he described as false reporting.
The three outlets challenged the decision in court, arguing that the administration had unlawfully restricted their access because of their journalism.
Justice Department lawyers defended the administration’s action on national security grounds, pointing to reports that allegedly relied on sensitive or classified information.
Kelly, however, questioned whether the administration had followed the required legal process before withdrawing the journalists’ White House credentials.
In his ruling, the judge said the media organisations were likely to succeed in their argument that their press passes had been revoked without adequate due process.
He noted that journalists should receive notice of the conduct that could result in the loss of their credentials and should have an opportunity to respond before such action is taken.
The judge also questioned whether national security was genuinely advanced by the withdrawal of the journalists’ access, pointing to public comments from Trump suggesting that the decision was connected to the outlets’ coverage.
The temporary restoration of access is expected to remain in place for 14 days while the court considers the broader legal challenge.
The dispute has also prompted other major US news organisations to take collective action, including withholding live television coverage of the White House event in support of CNN.
The administration has indicated that it intends to challenge the court’s decision.
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