DOMINANT ANGLE
Moscow first notes the discrepancy between the decision and its implementation: just hours after the court order, journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico remain blocked in front of the White House.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Federal Judge Tim Kelly ruled that Trump's ban "probably" violated the Constitution and suspended it for fourteen days.
- 02
Despite the order, a Politico correspondent had their badge revoked and a Secret Service agent told them they were not authorized to enter; CNN correspondents faced the same refusal.
- 03
Trump announced he would appeal the decision and refused to have the Oval Office "infested with third-rate clowns" spreading "fake news".
ANALYSIS
Moscow, September 24, 2026. The Russian press first notes a discrepancy: just hours after a federal judge ordered the restoration of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico's credentials, journalists from these newsrooms were denied entry to the White House. Vedomosti and Meduza, citing Reuters, report that Judge Tim Kelly found the ban imposed by Donald Trump "probably" violated the US Constitution and suspended it for fourteen days, pending further proceedings.
According to Meduza, a Politico correspondent had their badge confiscated at the entrance: a secret service agent told them they had "no authorization" to enter the premises. CNN correspondents were met with the same refusal. The court decision, rendered overnight, was therefore not applied that morning.
The two publications recall the timeline set out by the three newsrooms in their complaint: on September 18, Trump had announced the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, accusing these media outlets of spreading "fake news" and stating that they should not "lie" when covering his administration. The newsrooms had taken the matter to court, citing a violation of the First Amendment and the lack of a legal recourse.
The Justice Department had justified the ban on national security grounds, an argument that the court dismissed: nothing in the file supports such a threat, Meduza and Vedomosti note, and the letters explaining the reasons were sent only after the complaint was filed. Trump himself had justified the exclusion not on security grounds, but on the publication of "fake news".
Vedomosti reports that Trump announced his intention to appeal, refusing to have the Oval Office "sullied by third-rate clowns" who, in his view, misinform the public with "distorted" news. The newspaper also notes that four major American networks - ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News - had stopped covering certain presidential trips, to the point where Trump's trip to the UN took place without a film crew.
Press advocacy organizations and dozens of media outlets, including Reuters, The Washington Post, and Fox News, have signed a statement deeming the withdrawal of White House access based on an editorial line to be contrary to Supreme Court jurisprudence.
