Judge orders White House to restore access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico

A federal judge ordered the White House on Thursday to let reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico back onto its grounds, ruling that President Donald Trump's ban on the three outlets was likely unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly restored their access for 14 days while the lawsuit proceeds, NBC News reported. The order was issued overnight, but reporters from all three outlets were still stopped at the gates Thursday morning.

Secret Service officers initially refused to let the journalists in, according to CNBC. Kelly gave the administration until 12:30 p.m. to explain in writing. Around midday the White House began readmitting them, and by afternoon CNN's Betsy Klein and MS NOW's Laura Barrón-López were reporting live from the grounds.

That evening, Barrón-López was turned away from the arrival ceremony before the state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, MS NOW reported. A CNN producer and a CNN correspondent were also kept out. A staffer told Barrón-López to "talk to Steven," apparently meaning White House communications director Steven Cheung.

Trump announced the ban Sept. 18, accusing the outlets of publishing lies about him and his administration. Their reporters had been barred since the next day.

Kelly ruled that the press badges were pulled without "constitutionally adequate due process," CNN reported. Administration lawyers argued the outlets had a way to appeal, citing letters the White House sent after the ban took effect.

According to PBS NewsHour, Kelly found the White House's standard for objectionable reporting too vague and dismissed its claim that the coverage endangered national security, noting that Trump had not raised that argument at first.

Trump nominated Kelly to the bench in 2017. The following year, the judge ordered the first Trump administration to restore the credentials of then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta.

Theodore Boutrous Jr., who represents the outlets, called the order "a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press" and said it also upheld due process and the rule of law. The White House answered CNBC's request for comment with a link to its court filing.