Associated Press objects to new White House press policy – JURIST
The Associated Press (AP) filed a preliminary injunction on Wednesday seeking to ensure immediate compliance with the injunction imposed last week that ordered the White House to allow AP reporters access to the press pool. The injunction was filed just one day after information was leaked regarding a new White House Press policy that would once again limit the access the AP reporters have to certain press conferences held in the White House and on Air Force One.
The White House announced the new press policy on Tuesday, restricting the wire services and print reporters to rotate through only two spots in small White House spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One.
Wire services include the major reporters like AP, Bloomberg, and Reuters, which provide media coverage to millions of people all over the world. Before the implementation of this new policy, the White House Correspondents Association allowed reporters from all three wire services and one print reporter.
In addition to this reduction of press access slots, the media policy also includes a provision that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will have the final day-to-day say as to who is allowed to question President Donald Trump. She reported that the policy will allow reporters to attend “irrespective of the substantive viewpoint expressed by the outlet.”
The new policy comes after a courtroom loss for the Trump administration in the AP’s lawsuit filed after they lost White House access when they refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. A federal judge in Washington delivered a ruling in favor of the AP that required the White House to allow the AP to attend conferences at the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other White House press conferences. The judge stated the restriction of coverage access inflicted by the White House on the AP was a form of retaliation that was in violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
The AP is now back to the courts looking to ensure compliance with the first injunction set forth by the federal judge in Washington, stating in their brief: “Given Defendants’ refusal to obey this Court’s Injunction Order on its own terms, the AP respectfully requests that this Court enter such further relief as the Court deems necessary to ensure that Defendants immediately comply with the Injunction Order.”
