Judge blocks Trump’s White House ban targeting CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying it likely violated First Amendment

Updated on: October 13, 2026 / 11:51 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Trump's attempt to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, maintaining access to the grounds for reporters from the three news organizations indefinitely.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Mr. Trump, granted the outlets' request for a preliminary injunction, which will remain in place while the case moves forward. In a 26-page decision, Kelly found that the revocation of their journalists' hard passes likely violated their Fifth and First Amendment rights.

"It is likely that President Trump's revocation of Plaintiffs' hard passes is the sort of action that would deter a reasonable reporter or news organization from publishing stories to which he objects," Kelly wrote in his decision. "The revocation of Plaintiffs' hard passes matters a lot as to how, whether, and to what extent they can do their jobs."

The judge said Mr. Trump's comments "suggest that he intended the revocation of Plaintiffs' hard passes to alter their reporting on him, bolstering the case that his action here is sufficient to deter a reporter of ordinary firmness from reporting in the same…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/