WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly granted an October 13 preliminary injunction protecting CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s White House press access while their challenge to President Donald Trump’s September ban proceeds.
In his 26-page memorandum opinion, Kelly found the plaintiffs likely to prevail on their Fifth Amendment due-process claim and their First Amendment claims of retaliation and viewpoint discrimination. Unlike the earlier temporary protection, the new relief continues during the case. It is not a final judgment.
The ruling concerns the journalists’ “hard passes,” which provide expedited, unescorted access to designated White House press areas. Kelly concluded that the administration had not supplied adequate advance standards for revoking them and that removing the credentials over unfavorable coverage would likely discourage protected reporting.
The government argued that professionalism and national security justified the restrictions. Kelly found insufficient support in the record connecting national-security concerns to the revocations. He also emphasized that the decision does not prevent legitimate government action to protect classified information.
The judge rejected the government’s request to stay the injunction pending appeal and required a nominal $1 bond. The Associated Press independently reported the preliminary injunction.
RNN has not verified a filed appeal or determined whether the new relief resolves separate restrictions on Air Force One travel and individual pool assignments. Those operational questions remain distinct from preserving general press credentials.
The injunction does not decide the separate Justice Department antitrust investigation into the television networks’ temporary suspension of pooled coverage.