CNN Sues White House Over Revocation of Jim Acosta’s Press Credentials
WASHINGTON — CNN has filed suit against the Trump administration to demand that the White House reinstate Jim Acosta’s credentials, which were revoked last week following a contentious post-midterm press conference.
The lawsuit sets up a potential legal showdown between the administration and CNN, which Trump has long disparaged, as well as the news media itself.
“The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process,” CNN said in a statement. “We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process. While the suit is specific to CNN and Acosta, this could have happened to anyone. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to the lawsuit saying, “This is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.”
CNN hired high-profile attorneys Ted Boutrous and Ted Olson of Gibson Dunn to represent them in the lawsuit. As issues of press access were raised since Trump took office, Boutrous has pointed to a 1977 D.C. Circuit decision in Sherrill v. Knight, in which the court ruled that when it came to bonafide journalists covering the White House, “access not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons,” including the content of their coverage. The case involved Robert Sherrill, a journalist for the Nation who was denied credentials during the Johnson and later the Nixon administration, but was never informed for the specific reasons why he was turned down. As it turned out, the Secret Service had security concerns based on his past arrest record.
“The White House punished Mr. Acosta and CNN for the contents of their reporting,” Boutrous said. “The law is clear that this violates the First Amendment and Due Process Clause of the Constitution. The arbitrary revocation of Mr Acosta’s press credentials is causing irreparable injury each and every day because it is stopping him from reporting on news from the White House. That is why we are seeking emergency relief and asking that his credentials be restored immediately.”
The White House Correspondents Association, which represents the press corps, signaled their support for CNN’s action.
Olivier Knox, the president of the association, said that “revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events of last Wednesday. We continue to urge the administration to reverse course and fully reinstate CNN’s correspondent. The President of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him.”
On Wednesday evening, hours after the press conference, the administration pulled Acosta’s hard pass, which allowed him to enter and exit the White House grounds without an escort and without applying for a new credential each time.
Sanders claimed that Acosta was “placing his hands” on a White House intern who sought to take a microphone away from him as he persisted in asking a followup question to President Donald Trump.
Acosta called such a claim a “lie,” and video of the incident shows that one of his hands may have inadvertently touched her arm as she attempted to get the microphone and he held on to it to continue to speak to Trump.
In the lawsuit, CNN also contends that a video that the White House released of the incident was “apparently doctored” to make it look as if Acosta was overly aggressive.
Sanders, however, argued that “after Mr. Acosta asked the president two questions — each of which the president answered — he physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions. This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters.”
“The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional,” she added. “The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor. If there is no check on this type of behavior it impedes the ability of the President, the White House staff, and members of the media to conduct business.”
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