CNN said Friday that any attempt to shut its reporters out of the White House would be unconstitutional, after President Donald Trump declared he was banning the network, MS NOW, and Politico from the premises.
“CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting,” the network said in a statement posted to X. “We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government. Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected [sic] right.”
CNN Statement on White House access: pic.twitter.com/X0rMWFfueA
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) September 18, 2026
Trump announced the ban on Truth Social, calling for it to take effect immediately and promising that other outlets would “follow.” Asked in the Oval Office how the move squares with the First Amendment, he answered, “Because they’re fake news.” He said there was “no reason” for the timing and pointed instead to years of accumulated coverage he considers unfair.
The White House has not explained how the ban would be enforced. Reporters from all three outlets were still on the grounds as of 4:45 p.m. ET, according to CBS News, and CNN said its staff remained at its workspace near the briefing room.
Politico and MS NOW had not publicly responded as of Friday afternoon, and the White House Correspondents’ Association had not commented.
Trump’s post singled out Politico over federal subscription payments, a subject The Daily Wire covered when then-Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in February 2025 that the government would end them.
ACLU attorney Arthur Spitzer called the ban unconstitutional. Attorney Alan Dershowitz told Newsweek that presidents have long excluded outlets over viewpoints and that he sees no constitutional violation here.
The dispute follows earlier access fights. In 2018, the White House pulled the credentials of CNN’s Jim Acosta, and a federal judge ordered them restored after CNN sued. This year, the administration’s restrictions on the Associated Press remain in litigation, with an appeals court letting some limits stay in place for now.
.png)
.png)
