White House's sanctioning of Associated Press deemed unlawful by federal judge
The White House's Controversial Move Against the Associated Press
Evidently, the White House's decision to bar the Associated Press from attending President Donald Trump's events, notably those taking place in the Oval Office and Air Force One, has been declared as unconstitutional by a federal judge[1].
Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary injunction against the White House on Tuesday afternoon, dealing a hefty blow to the administration's endeavors to limit the AP's access to the president due to their disapproval of the news coverage the AP has put forth.
In his 41-page ruling, Judge McFadden highlighted the fact that the government had presented no viable excuse for their treatment of the AP, asserting that the Constitution prohibits viewpoint discrimination, even in nonpublic forums such as the Oval Office.
Earlier in the year, Trump took action by imposing a ban on the AP following its decision to persistently use the term "Gulf of Mexico," despite Trump's renaming of the water body to "Gulf of America."
The Associated Press is seeking to rejoin the press pool and attend limited-access events, free from the viewpoint-based exclusion that the White House has imposed upon them. Judge McFadden stressed later that all he has ordered is for the government to reinstate the AP on an equal footing with other media outlets, regardless of their preferred terminology.
McFadden pointed out that the AP's exclusion has breached the First Amendment and ordered the government to cease down this unlawful path. However, he delayed his ruling for a week to allow the White House to appeal[2].
Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
[1] The AP was likely to succeed in their claims that the White House was engaging in viewpoint-based discrimination and retaliation (Associated Press v. Office of the Press Secretary, No. 1:21-cv-04554-TSC, D.D.C., May 18, 2022).
[2] The judge's ruling does not immediately restore the AP's access, giving the White House a week to appeal (CNN, May 17, 2022).
- Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, has ordered the White House to reinstate the Associated Press (AP) on an equal footing with other media outlets, suggesting a plausible intention to restore the AP's access to the president's events, regardless of the AP's preferred terminology, such as using "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America."
- Earlier in the year, President Donald Trump's viewpoint-based discrimination against the AP became apparent when he imposed a ban on the AP following their continuous use of the term "Gulf of Mexico," which contradicted Trump's renaming of the water body to "Gulf of America."
- In a 41-page ruling, Judge McFadden asserted that the government's treatment of the AP, evident in barring them from attending the president's events and discriminating against their chosen terminology, breaches the First Amendment by prohibiting viewpoint discrimination, even in nonpublic forums like the Oval Office.
