CNN, MS NOW and Politico Barred From White House After Trumps Ban

Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico had their badges confiscated when they attempted to enter the White House grounds on Saturday, a stark escalation in President Trump’s ever-expanding battles with the news media that sets up a significant legal and constitutional clash.Mr.Trump has sued, subpoenaed and threatened the press corps that reports on him.

But his decision to bar those three news outlets, announced in a Truth Social post on Friday, was so abrupt that it caught some administration officials off guard, including aides in the press office, according to three people who were told about the conversations.First Amendment experts condemned Mr.Trump’s ban as unconstitutional and said that it was unlikely to survive a court challenge.

Affected outlets pledged to defend their legal rights.And CNN’s rival television networks were discussing how to proceed in the event that CNN was still banned next week.It remained unclear what had prompted Mr.

Trump to issue his insult-laden Truth Social post, which he published while Susie Wiles, his chief of staff, was out of town.Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said in an email on Saturday that members of Mr.Trump’s senior staff were with him at the time he published the Truth Social post.

“We all fully support his decision,” he wrote.Akayla Gardner, a correspondent for MS NOW, said that her White House-issued access badge failed to work on Saturday at the security entrance where reporters typically enter near the West Wing.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....