By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – US television networks resumed coverage of President Donald Trump’s White House events on Friday, providing the first live pool access for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit, as a legal battle continues over restrictions on CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
Trump last week banned the three outlets from the White House, before a judge ordered the administration to restore their access.
The White House television press pool aired video of Xi’s arrival at the White House for tea on the final day of the Chinese leader’s visit, as well as the two leaders’ tour of the National Archives, which houses the US Constitution.
CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC share the costs of covering the president and rotate coverage, providing pool footage to other outlets. The other networks’ refusal to set up cameras in solidarity meant there was no pool coverage of the first two days of Xi’s visit.
Trump has long relied on the media to shape his public image and advance his agenda, even as he regularly casts news organizations as political adversaries. Since returning to office last year, his administration has taken an aggressive stance against major news outlets, including limiting access to the Oval Office and other restricted spaces.
As pool coverage resumed for Xi’s arrival at the White House on Friday, Trump declined to answer questions from reporters on China and Iran, his media ban and a controversial new taxpayer-funded TV ad that promotes his presidency. He later thanked reporters.
“We appreciate the fair coverage. It’s been very fair. We appreciate it,” Trump later told reporters alongside Xi.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the restored press access.
UNPRECEDENTED CAMPAIGN
Trump banned the three news outlets from the White House complex over coverage he asserted was false or negative. Their access was reinstated on Thursday, after a federal judge deemed the ban likely unconstitutional and ordered their access to be immediately restored.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued Trump and other members of his administration, saying the ban violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights. A coalition of press freedom groups and dozens of news organizations, including Reuters, later filed a legal brief supporting the action.
Despite the temporary ruling restoring access, the court has not yet resolved the main challenge to the ban, based on the First Amendment of the US Constitution that protects the right to free speech and a free press. The news outlets now have until September 28 to ask the judge to keep their access in place while the case moves forward.
Even if the outlets won a permanent injunction against the ban, Trump could still pursue his case in federal court.
Trump has waged an unprecedented campaign against the media since returning to office last year, launching personal attacks on journalists, denying access to some outlets and suing news organizations, as well as calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strip broadcast stations of their licenses.
FRIENDLIEST PRESS CORPS
On Thursday, Trump made a joke to photographers in the Oval Office about China — which imposes strict censorship across its media — having the friendliest press corps, as he welcomed Xi to the White House.
While the White House on Thursday told the court it had reinstated CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s access, CNN and MS NOW later said some of their journalists were denied access to cover Xi’s arrival for the White House state dinner, according to the Washington Post.
A lawyer for the three outlets in court this week warned that the White House could again try to revoke the outlets’ White House access as the current litigation continues.
David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, which is seeking to merge with CNN-parent Warner Bros. Discovery, attended the Trump-Xi state dinner Thursday night.
Critics have raised concerns about Paramount-owned CBS News tailoring coverage to favor Trump, although Ellison has promised to create an editorial independence board for both CBS and CNN as part of the deal.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Steve Holland, Bo Erickson, Nandita Bose, Katharine Jackson and Ryan Patrick Jones; Writing by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, Andrea Ricci and Deepa Babington)
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