Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday ruled for the Associated Press in its ongoing dispute with the White House and ordered top officials to restore the news outlet’s access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and other spaces when they are open to other members of the press pool.
In a 41-page decision, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden granted the AP a preliminary injunction blocking the federal government from restricting its access to certain media events because of its decision to continue using the name Gulf of Mexico.
President Trump on his first day in office issued an executive order renaming the body of water the Gulf of America.
“The AP seeks restored eligibility for admission to the press pool and limited-access press events, untainted by an impermissible viewpoint-based exclusion,” he wrote. “That is all the court orders today: For the government to put the AP on an equal playing field as similarly situated outlets, despite the AP’s use of disfavored terminology.”
McFadden, appointed to the federal bench by Mr. Trump, said his injunction doesn’t limit the “various permissible reasons” the government may have from excluding journalists from events where access is limited or mandate that all eligible reporters be given access to the president or private government spaces.
He clarified that his decision also does not bar government officials from choosing which journalists to participate in interviews with or from publicly expressing their own views.
“The court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less,” McFadden wrote in his opinion.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
