CNN and Politico again were restricted from traveling with President Donald Trump on Air Force One on Monday, only the latest effort by the White House to punish outlets for content it does not like.
CNN was scheduled to be the TV pool and Politico the print pool on Trump’s trip to Mississippi, where he is making a midterm campaign swing. As the secondary print pooler, Axios stepped in to provide updates via its reporter Hans Nichols.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
On September 18, Trump banned CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House grounds, but a federal judge later put that restriction on hold, finding that the outlets were likely to succeed in their claims that their due process and First Amendment rights were violated. But the administration has continued to restrict the outlets from travel when they are they are the assigned poolers on the trips. Because of space limitations in smaller areas like Air Force One and the Oval Office, media outlets take turns serving as pool reporters, with their notes and images distributed to the rest of the press corps.
Last week, attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. wrote a letter on behalf of CNN, warning that they would “return to court” unless access is restored.
“These efforts to retaliate and discriminate against CNN based on the content of its news coverage are mistaken, counterproductive and unlawful,” Boutrous wrote in a letter to Michael Velchik, DOJ senior counsel representing the Trump administration. They have not responded, Boutrous said.
Politico was previously blocked from Air Force One pool duty on October 5. CNN is part of a five-network rotation for the TV pool, and was previously restricted from travel on September 21, September 26, October 1 and October 16.
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