Thirteen news organizations issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting CNN’s lawsuit against the President Donald Trump’s administration for revoking White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials.
According to The Hill, The Associated Press, Bloomberg, Fox News, and The Washington Post are among the 13 organizations that said they intend to file friend-of-the-court briefs to back CNN and Acosta’s case.
“Whether the news of the day concerns national security, the economy, or the environment, reporters covering the White House must remain free to ask questions,” the news organizations said in a statement.
“It is imperative that independent journalists have access to the President and his activities, and that journalists are not barred for arbitrary reasons,” the groups added. “Our news organizations support the fundamental constitutional right to question this President, or any President.”
Other newsgroups that signed onto the statement included First Look Media Works, Inc.; Gannett; National Press Club Journalism Institute; NBC News; The New York Times; Politico; Press Freedom Defense Fund; E.W. Scripps Company; and USA Today Network.
On Tuesday, CNN filed a lawsuit accusing the White House of violating Acosta’s First and Fifth Amendment rights.
The Hill reports that a federal judge is scheduled to hold an initial hearing on the case on Wednesday afternoon, where he will rule on the network’s request for a temporary restraining order that would immediately return Acosta’s press pass.
The White House has vowed to “vigorously” fight the lawsuit, and argued in an initial filing on Wednesday morning that the President has “broad discretion to regulate access to the White House.”
The White House press corps has long had tense relationships with the presidents they cover, but experts said it is unprecedented in the modern era for an administration to pull credentials from a reporter it does not like.
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