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On Saturday, September 26, President Trump denied CNN access to Air Force One.
The President does not say CNN cannot cover his appearances; they will have to find their own way to his scheduled appearances, as do hundreds of other news outlets and reporters.
In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “The president has every right to decide who gets to fly on his plane, and it is national security, especially on Air Force One, and especially at the White House.”
“It’s not just the fact that they refuse to report anything accurately.”
Last Friday, September 18, President Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from the White House press pool after “unfair coverage” of Trump’s press conferences and presidential duties.
The three news outlets sued, and in an early-morning decision (12:59 a.m.) on Saturday, September 19, Federal District Judge Tim Kelly ruled that the administration must temporarily allow the three amigos back on White House grounds.
Standing in solidarity, five privileged outlets (ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC)
in the press pool stayed away from covering the President’s activities.
Donald Trump and CNN have long been at odds about some of the organization’s news reports.
Tensions between Trump’s current administration and CNN came to a head most recently when CNN revealed “top-secret” construction details about the bunker under the White House East Wing.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that “publishing this sensitive structural information diverted vital resources and undermined national security.”
- On the war with Iran, the Trump Administration says that CNN’s reporting leaked information on long-term military strategy as “harmful to the country’s interests” and inherently biased.
Although Federal District Judge Timothy Kelly’s ruling allows the reactivation of CNN, MSNOW, and POLITICO’s hard press passes, it’s only a temporary court victory.
Tim Kelly’s ruling has more to do with the Fifth Amendment (Due Process) than a First Amendment stand, which is what CNN and MSNOW sued for.
Kelly said that the administration must provide “notice and an opportunity to be heard” before revoking access to the White House.
“Think globally, act locally.”
It is crucial to be forward-thinking but not a forward person. “Be kind to everyone you meet because each carries his heavy burden…” Plato.
Embrace the three Constants: change, justice, and rightness.
The thought police are busy at work trying to suppress free speech. If allowed their march to madness, they will arrest your very thoughts.
“Free speech, but not free reach.” — Social media titans.
Free speech is thy Lord.
