Is it legal to ban reporters from the White House?
What United States courts have held about barring reporters from the White House, from Sherrill v. Knight (1977) to the 2026 CNN, MS NOW and Politico case.
United States courts have held that the White House may not deny a reporter's press pass "arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons" and must give notice, a chance to respond and written reasons (Sherrill v. Knight, 1977), but in 2025 an appeals court allowed the White House to exclude the AP news agency from the Oval Office and the president's aircraft, which it treated as restricted spaces (AP v. Budowich). The lawsuit over President Donald Trump's ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico is pending as of September 22, 2026 (case record).
Is it legal to ban reporters from the White House?
The White House is the office and residence of the president of the United States in Washington, D.C. Two constitutional rights apply. The First Amendment provides that Congress shall make no law "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." The Fifth Amendment guarantees due process, fair procedure before the government takes away a person's liberty or property (glossary). Because losing a hard pass affects a reporter's ability to do their job, courts have treated it as a protected liberty interest, which is why Sherrill v. Knight required notice and a chance to respond before one is denied.
In 1977 the D.C. Circuit, the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., held that once press facilities are open to journalists, the First Amendment "requires that this access not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons" (opinion, 569 F.2d 124). The court also wrote that "arbitrary or content-based criteria for press pass issuance are prohibited under the first amendment" (opinion).
Under the public forum doctrine, United States courts give the government broad discretion over access to spaces such as the Oval Office, the president's office. Treating speakers differently because of their opinions is viewpoint discrimination, which courts disfavour. Courts have described a free press as playing an essential role in a democracy, and freedom of the press is widely treated as a fundamental right under the First Amendment, even though the case law above shows that right is not absolute inside the White House.
What have courts decided in earlier White House cases?
Sherrill v. Knight (1977)
Robert Sherrill of The Nation was denied a White House press pass in 1966 on the recommendation of the Secret Service, the federal agency that protects the president (opinion). The court held that a denial requires "notice of the factual bases for denial, an opportunity for the applicant to respond to these, and a final written statement of the reasons for denial" (case record).
CNN and Jim Acosta (2018)
On November 7, 2018, the White House suspended CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's hard pass, the credential that let him enter the White House grounds without applying each day, after a news conference with President Donald Trump (record). On November 16, 2018, Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the federal trial court in Washington granted a temporary restraining order on due process grounds, and the White House restored the pass on November 19 (case record).
Brian Karem (2019 to 2020)
On August 16, 2019, Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham suspended Playboy correspondent Brian Karem's credentials for 30 days after an exchange in the Rose Garden (RCFP). In June 2020 a D.C. Circuit panel held that "the White House may not rely on unarticulated standards of professionalism" to justify the suspension, Judge David S. Tatel wrote (RCFP, 2020-06-11).
The Associated Press (2025)
From February 11, 2025, the Trump administration excluded Associated Press (AP) journalists from the Oval Office and Air Force One, the president's aircraft, after the AP kept the name "Gulf of Mexico" (record). On April 8, 2025, Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered access restored; on June 6, 2025, a D.C. Circuit panel stayed that order 2 to 1 except for the East Room (case record). Judge Neomi Rao wrote that "these restricted presidential spaces are not First Amendment fora opened for private speech and discussion" (CNN). The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University tracks the case.
Which media are banned from the White House?
As of September 22, 2026, three restrictions on news outlets are in effect. Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico (the three outlets banned on September 18, 2026) cannot enter the White House grounds with their hard passes, which were deactivated on September 19, 2026 (record). The AP remains excluded from the Oval Office, the presidential aircraft, Mar-a-Lago and the Cabinet Room (record). Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a press freedom organization based in Paris, reported that Trump banned The Wall Street Journal's reporters from the presidential plane on trips in 2025 after a story about Trump and Jeffrey Epstein (RSF). Losing a rotation slot cuts off an outlet's White House coverage for as long as the exclusion lasts, since a barred reporter cannot file from inside the building at all.
What journalists are banned from the White House?
On September 19, 2026, the Secret Service turned away CNN's Betsy Klein, MS NOW's Akayla Gardner and Politico's Cheyenne Haslett, who were denied entry at the gates (record). One said she was told "they had to take my badge because it was disabled" (ABC News). On September 21, CNN was kept from its scheduled turn in the White House press pool (RSF).
What reason did President Trump give for the ban?
On September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump announced the ban on Truth Social, a social media platform, and described the outlets' coverage as "FICTION and LIES" (NPR). The same day he told a Bloomberg reporter, "I dislike dishonest press, like you. I think you're terrible" (NPR). The AP reported that he cited "fake news" (AP via MPR News). The White House has not named a specific story (as of 2026-09-22).
What do the three news organizations and press groups say?
The three news outlets sued the Trump administration on September 21, 2026, after MS NOW journalists were denied access to the White House (NBC News). The complaint says: "This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles" (PBS NewsHour). The outlets said in a statement that they were suing "to protect our First Amendment rights" (Axios), and their public statements indicate they intend to vigorously defend that claim in court.
The White House Correspondents' Association, the organization of reporters who cover the president, said on September 18, 2026: "The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference" (WHCA). A CNN spokesperson said that if the ban went ahead, "it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right," according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit in New York (CPJ). CPJ said the ban "violates First Amendment rights" (CPJ).
On September 21, 2026, other news organizations, including the AP, The New York Times and The Washington Post, joined a CPJ statement saying the ban "sets a dangerous precedent, one in which the President decides what the American people can know and from whom they can know it" (CPJ). The signatories stand "in our firm defense of a free press" (CPJ). Press freedom groups frame the dispute as being about the American people's press access to the presidency and the independent journalism that access makes possible; other outlets were not named in the September 2026 ban, but CPJ's "dangerous precedent" language reflects concern that they could face similar action.
Is criticizing the president of the United States a crime?
The First Amendment bars laws "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press" (glossary), but in 1798 President John Adams signed the Sedition Act, which made it a crime to "print, utter, or publish ... any false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the government, according to the National Archives as cited by the AP.
What happens next in the 2026 case?
Cable News Network, Inc. v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-03287, was filed on September 21, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (case record). It is assigned to Judge Timothy Kelly, and a hearing is scheduled for September 23, 2026 (PBS NewsHour; record).
White House access cases, 1966 to 2026
| Date | Action | Outcome | |---|---|---| | 1966-05-03 | Secret Service denies Robert Sherrill a press pass | Procedures required, 1977-12-15 (case) | | 2018-11-07 | Acosta hard pass suspended | Restored 2018-11-19 (case) | | 2019-08-16 | Karem pass suspended 30 days | Suspension blocked, 2020 (RCFP) | | 2025-02-11 | AP excluded from Oval Office and presidential plane | Partly in effect; on appeal (case) | | 2026-09-19 | CNN, MS NOW, Politico press passes deactivated | Pending (case) |
Have other governments barred reporters from the seat of government?
The record files these cases under access bans and compares them on the access-ban ladder. In the Philippines, on February 21, 2018, a Rappler reporter was barred from Malacañang Palace on President Rodrigo Duterte's orders, and his spokesperson cited the outlet's "fake news" reporting (record). In Kazakhstan, 2024 rules let officials withdraw accreditation for off-topic questions (record).
Sources
- Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977) archived copy
- Associated Press v. Taylor Budowich, opinion
- The Associated Press v. Budowich
- CNN, 2025-06-06
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2020-06-11
- Trump says CNN, MS NOW and Politico will be banned from the White House archived copy
- Trump banning CNN, MS NOW, Politico from White House archived copy
- CNN, MS NOW, Politico say they've notified Trump they're suing over denied White House access archived copy
- CNN, MS NOW, Politico sue Trump administration over White House ban archived copy
- Statement on White House Position on CNN, MSNOW and Politico
- White House faces mounting legal backlash archived copy
- Statement of news organizations, 2026-09-21
- Reporters Without Borders, 2026-09-22
- Statement on the White House ban, 2026-09-18
- Reporters Without Borders, "USA: 8 ways Trump is shrinking the space for press freedom"
- What is the White House pool? These days, it's a battleground between Trump and free press rights