UPDATED with White House response: Shortly after CNN said that it was denied access to cover the arrivals at the White House State Dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping tonight, MS NOW announced that it, too, had been barred. The news came on the same day a federal judge ordered the White House to restore […]
UPDATED with White House response: Shortly after CNN said that it was denied access to cover the arrivals at the White House State Dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping tonight, MS NOW announced that it, too, had been barred.
The news came on the same day a federal judge ordered the White House to restore hard passes to the networks’ journalists and those of and Politico.
The coverage at the North Portico was scheduled to be open to pre-credentialed media, a wider scope of reporters and photographers than the White House press pool.
CNN White House correspondent Kristen Holmes said that they were told that their credential to cover the event was only for a camera and audio, not an editorial presence. She had requested that she and her producer attend.
“Again, no editorial presence, just a camera and audio, which certainly seems like a reaction to President Trump saying that he wanted the CNN coverage of the event,” Holmes said.
The White House said on its rapid response account that it was a “pre-credentialed event,” and “contrary to what the fake news wants you the believe, they don’t just get to have free rein into every part of the White House, every event, and every press call.”
The exclusion came after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered that credentials for CNN, Politico and MS NOW be restored, ending Trump’s five-day ban of the outlets from the White House grounds.
The outlets returned to the White House around noon. Then, hours later, Trump complained that CNN and MS NOW were not covering the state visit.
Trump claimed that the networks “refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years, the arrival at the White House of the Highly Respected President of China, Xi Jinping, and his beautiful wife, Madam Peng. The event was magnificent — Actually made for Television but, because they’re Fake News, and because they knew how good it would be, they didn’t want credit to be given to ‘TRUMP,’ they refused to be there. That’s why they have such poor Ratings. Tonight’s State Dinner at the White House, for President Xi, will be spectacular!”
In fact, network correspondents said that they were not able to get access to the White House on Thursday morning. And after the White House pulled CNN from the TV pool on Monday, the other four networks in the pool declined to replace them in the rotation. That has meant a dearth of video images from the White House, as TV pool coverage has yet to resume.
The latest exclusion does not appear to be addressed in Kelly’s order. Rather, it is an issue about access to a particular event on White House grounds. The press office sends out notice to reporters of events that are open to “pre-credentialed media,” accommodating a much wider scope of credentialed reporters than those restricted to the White House pool. Those who want to attend RSVP, and the White House staff then inform reporters and photographers if they have clearance to go.
Last year, after Trump barred the Associated Press from pool access to areas like the Oval Office as well as larger “pre-credentialed media” events in locations like the East Room, the news organization sued. In an initial ruling on a preliminary injunction, a federal judge sided with the AP, concluding that the White House could not bar outlets from press events based on viewpoint. The D.C. Circuit, though, concluded that the White House could exclude the AP from smaller spaces, like the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, but distinguished those areas from larger White House locations like the East Room, where the district judge’s order remains in effect.