Six Citizens Sue Over White House Press Bans
Plaintiffs argue that restricting media access violates the public's right to know what their government is doing.
By Jessica Abebe ·
Six residents of New York state filed a federal lawsuit on Monday in Manhattan against President Donald Trump and three senior aides. The complaint argues that the administration’s ban on critical media outlets from the White House premises harms the general public, not just the press. The suit seeks a broad injunction to stop the government from retaliating against news organizations for their coverage.
The plaintiffs include Kenneth Roth, a former executive director of Human Rights Watch; Daniel Fallow, a political journalist; Beverly Gage, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian at Yale; Peter Schmidt-Nowara, a high school civics teacher in Brooklyn; Benjamin Wittes, a legal journalist and senior fellow at Brookings; and Ethan Young, a student journalist at the University of Pennsylvania. They represent a wide range of people who rely on independent reporting to do their work or stay informed.
Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute, said the First Amendment protects the public’s right to know what its government is doing. She stated that when the White House expels reporters because of their coverage, it is not just the press that suffers. The public loses access to independent reporting and gets something closer to government propaganda.
The suit names Trump, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Communications Director Steven Cheung, and Secret Service Director Sean M. Curran as defendants. It claims the policy creates a limited public forum where restrictions are viewpoint-based and unreasonable. The plaintiffs want a court declaration that the policy is unconstitutional and an injunction barring the defendants from enforcing it.
The Trump administration responded to the filing with a statement attributed to an unidentified White House official. The official said no person may demand access to the Oval Office. The administration added that media peddling misinformation and defamation are capable of reporting their stories from directly outside.
This lawsuit follows other legal battles involving the press. CNN, MSNBC, and Politico are currently suing after their journalists were banished from the White House in September. The Associated Press is litigating over a ban on its reporters following a dispute about the name of the Gulf of Mexico. The New York Times is challenging Pentagon escort policies, and ABC is fighting over broadcast license renewals. A federal judge recently extended an order preventing the White House from enforcing the ban while the CNN case proceeds.
Peter Schmidt-Nowara, who teaches social studies at Brooklyn Technical High School, said he joined the lawsuit because his students deserve to know what is happening in their government. He is gravely concerned that the restrictions are cutting off access to crucial information. Ethan Young, the student journalist, noted that the effect of these policy changes is acutely felt on college campuses. He relies on a diverse and independent cohort of White House reporters to serve as his proxy since he cannot personally access press spaces.
