Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. The White House is at it again, trying to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from covering them. The news outlets’ lawyers are fighting back, saying the administration has offered no new evidence to support its claims that their reporting has endangered national security. I mean, come on, if the White House can’t handle a little bad press, maybe they should just stick to tweeting.
The lawyers made their argument in a court filing on Monday, which is their final written effort to convince federal Judge Timothy Kelly to keep the White House access open for the three outlets. They’re saying that the White House has been trying to justify the ban with a series of shifting rationales, but really, it’s just about the President not liking the stories being written about him. Bless their hearts, they think they can just pick and choose which news outlets get to cover them.
The filing reads, “At every turn since, Defendants have sought to justify the President’s ‘ban on the free press’ with a series of shifting rationales, lurching from unarticulated standards of professionalism to nebulous and pretextual concerns about protecting national security.” Yeah, because that’s exactly what it sounds like – a bunch of excuses. And let’s not forget, the President himself has been complaining about the “constantly bad stories” in an interview with Time magazine. You can’t make this stuff up.
Judge Kelly will hold a hearing on Thursday to decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction, which would keep the White House access open for the outlets while the case plays out. I’m sure it’ll be a real nail-biter. In the meantime, the White House has been trying to restrict access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, because, you know, those are totally normal places to hold press briefings.
The lawyers are arguing that the White House can’t just exclude news organizations based on the content of their reporting or their perceived editorial viewpoint. I mean, that’s not how it works, folks. The press has a right to report on the President, even if he doesn’t like it. And let’s not forget, 77 media organizations and several press coalitions have come out against the White House’s attempts to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
The Trump administration is unlikely to succeed with Judge Kelly, but they’ll probably appeal anyway. Because, why not? It’s not like they have anything better to do. And in the end, it’s all just a big show, folks. The mainstream press coalition is still worried that other outlets could be blocked from White House coverage in the future, but for now, it’s just a big game of cat and mouse.
In conclusion, the White House is trying to ban some news outlets, the news outlets are fighting back, and it’s all just a big mess. But hey, at least it’s entertaining. And who knows, maybe one day the President will learn to deal with a little bad press. But until then, I’ll just be over here, sipping my coffee and enjoying the show. 😊
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
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