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AG Blanche defends White House press ban: access is "a privilege, not a right"
Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that Trump has not "denied access" to banned outlets, arguing White House access is a privilege, not a right; a federal judge temporarily blocked the credential ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico last week.
Why it matters
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Trump administration's restrictions on CNN, MS NOW and Politico accessing the White House and Air Force One, telling ABC's "This Week" that "being in the White House is a privilege. It's not a right." It is the first time the nation's top law-enforcement official has addressed the press-access dispute on national television, while the three outlets challenge the ban in federal court.
Background
The White House revoked the three outlets' press credentials over what it called inaccurate reporting. In the early hours of Thursday, September 24, federal Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order requiring the White House to restore the journalists' credentials, ruling the ban "likely violated their constitutional due process rights"; the White House complied that morning. But on Saturday, when Trump traveled to Tennessee for a football game, CNN said its scheduled Air Force One access was blocked, and there was no TV pool coverage of the trip.
What Blanche said
Blanche told host Martha Raddatz: "The president hasn't denied access. That's not the right way to describe it. The president is sick and tired of certain media outlets just refusing to report accurate news." He said inaccurate reporting could become a national security issue and that the White House routinely decides who flies on Air Force One — "this wasn't a one-time denial of CNN." When Raddatz quoted Trump's remark that the outlets want to "diminish Republicans," Blanche shot back that she had "picked out seven words the president said," calling it "extraordinarily disingenuous."
What's next
The judge's 14-day order suspending the ban will expire soon, and it remains to be seen whether the White House reinstates the restrictions. The three outlets argue the ban violates the First Amendment; litigation continues.
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