The Justice Department argued that the president could exclude the outlets on national security grounds. The administration cited reporting about the White House ballroom and the Iran war in defending the ban. The outlets argued that Trump was retaliating against coverage he disliked. “What the president is objecting to is the very essence of the First Amendment,” their attorney Ted Boutrous told the court. CNN’s lawyer also said the government’s filings objected to articles by journalists who did not hold White House passes.
The White House Correspondents’ Association joined the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and nearly 50 news organizations in filing a brief urging immediate reversal of the ban, arguing it amounted to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. The three barred outlets filed their lawsuit Monday. That day, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox declined to replace CNN’s assigned White House TV pool crew, suspending pooled presidential coverage that supplies shared footage to other news organizations.