UPDATE, with White House confirmation and judge’s new deadlines: Correspondents for CNN and MS NOW said that they have regained White House access, despite being earlier denied entry even though a judge ordered the Trump administration to do so.

CNN’s Betsy Klein and MS NOW’s Laura Barrón-López were back reporting from the White House grounds around noon ET on Thursday. Politico later reported that one of its correspondents also gained access.

The White House confirmed that access was restored in a filing shortly before a judge’s 12:30 p.m. ET deadline to explain why reporters were still being turned away.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled overnight that access must be restored, concluding that Donald Trump‘s ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico violated their due process rights. He granted a temporary restraining order that lasts for 14 days.

In a declaration submitted to the court, Micah Stopperich, the director of White House Press Operations, said that the White House press team “dropped badges at the entry gate for members of the press to pick up around 9:55 a.m.” The declaration did not explain the delay in restoring access.

It’s still unclear whether CNN will be restored to the TV pool. The four other networks in the pool suspending their participation in protest, leading to a dearth of video images from the White House.

On CNN, anchor Dana Bash was a bit incredulous when White House correspondent Alayna Treene reported that even Chinese officials were concerned about the ban and how it impacted coverage.

“Even the Chinese were concerned about American media not being in there,” Bash said to Treene.

According to a print pool reporter, photographers were brought in for the Trump-Xi meeting and Trump “made a joke about how the Chinese had the friendliest press corps.”

Meanwhile, Kelly gave CNN, Politico and MS NOW until Monday to file a motion for a preliminary injunction, something that, if granted, would likely ensure access at least through a trial or appeal. Trump has until Oct. 2 to file a response, and the media outlets have until Oct. 5 to reply. The judge said that he will set a hearing at a later date but “intend to rule expeditiously.”

PREVIOUSLY: A federal judge is giving Donald Trump until 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday to explain why White House credentials are still being denied to CNN, MS NOW and Politico, even after the court’s order to have them restored.

The deadline comes amid concerns beyond those of the media outlets over access: That the president may be openly defying an order from the judicial branch, amid fears by democracy advocates that Trump would eventually trigger a constitutional crisis.

The three outlets alerted U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to the continued denial of access, hours after he granted them a temporary restraining order. The order concluded that Trump’s ban on the outlets from the outlets violated due process, and ordered the hard passes to the White House complex immediately restored.

Meanwhile, as Trump was greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House, there was a lack of video images telecasting the moment.

After CNN was pulled by the Trump administration from the TV pool on Monday, the four other networks suspended their participation as well in protest. CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox News make up the rest of the pool. Even though Politico is part of the print pool, there has been no similar unified effort among other outlets to refrain from participation in that rotation.

Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement that Kelly’s ruling “is an important win for the American public. The judge rightly recognized the irreparable damage that this media ban has inflicted on the targeted news outlets. These harms spread throughout the entire press corps, as the broad amicus coalition we represented so powerfully demonstrated.”

He added, “Given the early reports that the White House is not restoring access, the most important next step is ensuring that the administration honors the injunction and rule of law.”

Kaitlan Collins, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, posted on X, “Despite the court order overnight, CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters are still being blocked from entering the White House grounds today. Yet for Xi’s visit, members of the Chinese state media are present.”