DOMINANT ANGLE
Berlin is watching the battle for press freedom unfolding in Washington, where more than 50 media outlets and professional associations have taken a stance in court alongside CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which have been excluded by Donald Trump.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the 14-day restoration of access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, ruling that the file contained no factual evidence to support the national security argument.
- 02
Despite the order, reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were denied entry to the White House Thursday morning, some stripped of their badge by the Secret Service without explanation.
- 03
More than 50 media outlets and professional associations signed a letter to the court in support of the excluded newsrooms, citing a 1974 Supreme Court ruling on editorial freedom.
ANALYSIS
Berlin, September 24, 2026. In Washington, a federal judge ordered the immediate restoration of access to the White House for the editorial teams of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, which had been excluded since September 18 by Donald Trump. Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that the withdrawal of accreditation had taken place "without a constitutionally appropriate procedure", recalling that anyone must receive notification and the opportunity to be heard before a protected interest is withdrawn by the government. His decision, valid for 14 days, dismisses the national security argument invoked by the administration: according to Kelly, the file contains no factual element establishing that maintaining the exclusion would protect national security. He also notes that Trump had initially justified the measure by a supposed lack of sincerity and negativity in the coverage of the three media outlets, before the security argument was put forward. Two previous rulings by the Columbia District Court of Appeals establish, according to the judge, that permanent accreditations can only be revoked after a regular procedure.
Despite the order, journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were denied entry to the complex on Thursday morning, some being deprived of their badge by the Secret Service, without any explanation being given. The White House did not immediately react to these incidents.
The German press emphasizes the professional mobilization sparked by the case: more than 50 media outlets and associations sent a letter to the court to support the banned editorial teams, citing a 1974 Supreme Court ruling protecting the editorial freedom of media in their treatment of public figures, "fair or unfair". The lawyer for the three media outlets, Ted Boutrous, welcomed a decision that defends "press freedom, due process, and the rule of law". A ZEIT podcast discusses the episode as an attack by Trump on press freedom, which occurred while other editorial teams had stopped, in solidarity, broadcasting images from the White House.
SOURCES (2)
- ZEIT OnlineMEDIUM
