A federal judge has denied a request by the Associated Press to immediately restore full access to the news agency's journalists after President Donald Trump's White House barred them from continuing to cover the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, rejected the AP's request for a temporary restraining order that would have restored access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and White House events. The AP said it would continue to fight the case.
"We look forward to the next hearing on March 20, where we will continue to defend the right of the press and public to speak freely without government repression," said an AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton. "This is a fundamental American freedom."
McFadden said the "private areas" restriction the president is using is different from previous cases in which courts have blocked government officials from removing access to journalists.
"I can't say that the AP has demonstrated a likelihood of success here," McFadden said during the court hearing.
The judge set an expedited schedule to consider a longer-term order in this case. McFadden said the White House appears to have discriminated against the AP based on news selection.
"I find that somewhat problematic," He said.
After the verdict, the White House in its statement said that "asking the President of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right."
An AP spokeswoman said the news agency will "continue to defend the right of the press and the public to speak freely without government repression".
The AP on Friday sued three high-ranking Trump associates, claiming the decision to block its reporters from specific locations violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects them from government restrictions on speech by trying to dictate the language they use in reporting.
Trump signed an executive order last month directing the US Department of the Interior to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the US Gulf.
The AP said in January that it would continue to use the long-established name for the Gulf in its reporting, while noting Trump's efforts to change it.
The White House is reportedly punishing media outlets that do not acknowledge the name change order; the Associated Press reports that one of its reporters was banned from a Trump event in February.
The White House Correspondents' Association, in a legal brief supporting the AP in the case, said the ban "chill and distort coverage of the president to the detriment of the public." Reuters issued a statement in support of the AP.
CMG/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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