WASHINGTON - CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to federal court Thursday after their journalists continued to be denied entry to the White House despite a judge's order requiring the administration to immediately restore their press access.
The three news organizations told U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly that the Trump administration had not complied with the temporary restraining order he issued earlier Thursday.
They asked Kelly to hold an emergency hearing to address what they described in a court filing as continuing noncompliance with his order.
Reuters reported that the outlets said the administration had not yet restored their access to White House grounds despite the overnight ruling.
The latest filing represents a new stage in the rapidly developing dispute over President Donald Trump's decision to bar the three organizations from the White House.
Judge ordered immediate restoration
Kelly issued a temporary restraining order early Thursday requiring administration officials to immediately return, reinstate and restore the affected journalists' White House press credentials.
The order also temporarily blocks enforcement of the administration's ban for 14 days while the underlying lawsuit proceeds.
Kelly concluded at this preliminary stage that the outlets were likely to succeed on constitutional claims involving due process and press protections.
The ruling was not a final judgment on the lawsuit.
Kelly also rejected the administration's national security justification on the record before him, saying the government had not provided sufficient factual support showing that restoring the passes would endanger national security.
Journalists still turned away
Despite the order, journalists representing the three organizations reported being denied access when they attempted to enter the White House Thursday morning.
Courthouse News Service reported that a Politico journalist was told by a Secret Service agent that he was not cleared to enter with his regular credentials.
According to that report, the journalist was told he could instead seek a temporary day pass, a credential ordinarily used by reporters who do not possess a permanent White House hard pass.
The dispute centers on the restoration of the permanent credentials that Kelly specifically ordered the administration to reinstate.
CNN and the other plaintiffs similarly told the court that their journalists had not received the access required by the judge's ruling.
Emergency hearing requested
The news organizations responded by asking Kelly to immediately reconvene the case.
Reuters reported that CNN, Politico and MS NOW filed the request Thursday and said the administration had failed to comply with the overnight order.
Courthouse News reported that Kelly subsequently directed the government to provide an explanation to the court.
The emergency request does not itself establish that the administration violated the order.
Kelly would determine whether the government's actions comply with the temporary restraining order and what additional steps, if any, are required.
Original ban announced Sept. 18
Trump announced Sept. 18 that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would no longer be permitted access to the White House.
The president publicly criticized the organizations' reporting and accused them of publishing false information.
The outlets' journalists were subsequently turned away from White House grounds and their hard-pass credentials were deactivated or confiscated.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued Trump and other administration officials in federal court, alleging violations of the First Amendment and their Fifth Amendment due-process rights.
The administration has argued that White House access is a privilege rather than an entitlement and that the president has authority to restrict access.
Due-process issue central to ruling
Kelly said existing precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit requires procedural protections when the government revokes previously issued White House press credentials.
He found that the journalists were likely to show that they had not received adequate notice or an opportunity to contest the revocations before losing access.
The Justice Department argued that letters sent to the organizations explaining the restrictions provided sufficient justification.
Kelly noted that those letters were sent after the credentials had already been revoked and after the lawsuit had been filed.
The judge also said the government had not provided declarations or other evidence specifically showing how the reporting identified by the administration threatened national security.
Press pool also affected
The ban has had consequences beyond the individual credentials of the three organizations.
CNN had been part of the rotating White House television pool that provides shared video coverage of presidential events.
Several major television networks subsequently withdrew from portions of pool coverage after CNN was excluded.
The dispute has therefore affected how television, audio and other shared coverage of White House events is gathered and distributed.
What happens next
The immediate question is whether Kelly will find that the administration complied with his order and whether additional judicial action is necessary to restore the journalists' access.
The outlets are seeking an urgent hearing rather than waiting for the broader constitutional lawsuit to proceed on its normal schedule.
The temporary restraining order remains in effect unless it is modified, stayed or overturned by another court.
The administration could also seek appellate review of Kelly's ruling.
As of the latest court filing, CNN, MS NOW and Politico maintain that the access ordered by the judge has not been restored.
The underlying case over the constitutionality of the White House ban remains unresolved.