CNN filed a lawsuit against The White House over the recent suspension of Jim Acosta’s press pass. The lawsuit alleges that Acosta and CNN’s First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated.

Context & Punishment

Trump called on Acosta on November 7th during a press conference.  Both men went back and forth over Trump’s immigration rhetoric and Acosta then asked another question on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Trump chose to ignore his questions and picked on another reporter to continue. Acosta then refused to give the microphone to the intern at first but eventually handed it over.

According to CNN, “In a statement announcing the suspension of Acosta’s press pass, Sanders said the administration will “never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern.”

The video distorted events and consequently proved Acosta did not mistreat the intern. Lawyer Ted Olson, a representative for CNN, stated in an interview for CNN that, “This is a very, very important case, this could happen to any journalist by any politician.” He further added, “Journalists cannot be silenced, censored or intimidated. That’s the end of the line. The White House cannot get away with this.”

Support & Results

CNN has received support from more than a dozen news outlets. From the Associated Press, USA Today, The Washington Post, Politico, and even Fox News. Fox and CNN have been rivals for many years. According to CNN, the president of Fox, Jay Wallace, said: “Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponized.”

On Friday, November 16, 2018, a federal judge ruled that CNN correspondent Jim Acosta can keep his White House press pass. This was a victory for CNN in its lawsuit with the White House. According to CBS News, “Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump-appointed judge, granted CNN its request for a temporary restraining order to force the White House to return Acosta’s credential.”

The White House violated Acosta’s right to due process under the Fifth Amendment due to not informing him that his credentials could be taken away, according to Kelly.

UPDATE:

CNN filed a lawsuit against The White House over the recent suspension of Jim Acosta’s press pass. The lawsuit alleged that Acosta and CNN’s First and Fifth Amendment were being violated, but as of recent, their lawsuit has been dropped according to the networks communication team and Acosta has restored his press pass.

On Friday, November 16, 2018, federal judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled that CNN correspondent Jim Acosta can keep his White House press pass. As of most recent, Monday, November 19, 2018, both parties dropped their efforts on ruling against each other.

According to CNBC, White House representative Sandra Huckabee Sanders stated to reporters, “This afternoon we have notified Jim Acosta and CNN that his hard pass has been restored, We have also notified him of certain rules that will govern White House press conferences going forward.”  

These new rules are:

“A journalist called upon to ask a question will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists. At the discretion of the President or other White House official taking questions, a follow-up question or questions may be permitted; and where a follow up has been allowed and asked, the questioner will then yield the floor.

“Yielding the floor” includes, when applicable, physically surrendering the microphone to White House staff for use by the next questioner. Failure to abide by any of rules 1-3 may result in suspension or revocation of the journalist’s hard pass.”

Lawyer Ted Olson, a representative for CNN, stated in an interview for CNN that, “Journalists cannot be silenced, censored or intimidated. That’s the end of the line. The White House cannot get away with this.”

Murad Saakyan, a Journalism Professor at Rio Hondo, stated that “Trump can’t eliminate freedom of the press but he can evoke violence during one of this rallies which he does frequently. Calling journalists ‘enemies of the people’ are what is causing Americans to seek news from sketchy websites because according to the President of the United States, we can’t trust what we hear on CNN or MSNBC. “

CNN had received support from more than a dozen news outlets. From the Associated Press to USA Today, The Washington Post, Politico, and Fox News.

This isn’t the first time something like this happens. Saakyan also stated, “This administration has clearly decided to pick and choose who gets to be labeled ‘real news’ and which gets to be labeled ‘fake news.’ There was a photograph taken at a Trump rally where one of his supporters is wearing a shirt that gives instructions on how to hang a journalist.”

“It’s a crazy time to be a journalist right now. But this isn’t new. Richard Nixon tried to revoke The Washington Post from getting into the White House. This was because Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein blew the Watergate scandal wide open in 1972. Trump is trying to ban one journalist, Nixon tried to stop an entire publication,” said Saakyan. 

A print version of this article appeared on Tuesday, Nov. 6. The article was adjusted for the purpose of an online publication.