Can Trump ban CNN, news outlets he doesn’t like from the White House?

The ban is the latest attack by Trump on media outlets that he perceives as unfavourable to his administration.

US President Donald Trump (C) at the White House in Washington, DC [Samuel Corum/EPA]

United States President Donald Trump has taken the unprecedented step of announcing that several media outlets are to be banned from the White House, “immediately”.

On Friday, he took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to announce the ban, citing “reporting FAKE NEWS!” as the reason, with other outlets to follow.

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list 2 of 3 Trump bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico from White House for ‘fake news’

list 3 of 3 Trump bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico from the White House

Asked by reporters later on Friday what he meant, Trump said: “Others to come in terms of fake news? Well, you know, The New York Times is fake news, The Washington Post is fake news.”

Here is what you need to know:

Which news outlets have been banned and why?

The US President banned CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) and Politico from reporting from the White House.

On Truth Social, he accused the outlets of propagating “fake news”. He added that the outlets “constantly write or report fiction or lies” about the Trump administration, but did not give any examples.

However, a short news conference at the White House on the same day revealed that it was likely a partisan issue, telling reporters the outlets “purposely write negative news” and seek to “diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration. And honestly, we’ve done a fantastic job.”

Journalists gather in the Brady Press Briefing Room before going into the Oval Office at the White House [Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via AFP]

What have the responses been?

CNN denounced the move, saying it stands behind its White House team and their “fair and accurate reporting”.

“We have a right under the US Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government,” a CNN spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Should the ban, which President Trump threatened, go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally protected right.”

Politico said it would “continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones. We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them.”

The news outlet’s communications team also pushed back on a separate Trump claim that Politico had received government subsidies, calling it “false” and saying it had “been thoroughly debunked”.

MS NOW did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement.

Reporter Kristen Holmes of CNN prepares to speak from the White House [Daniel Heuer/Getty Images via AFP]

The National Press Club was among several groups that immediately criticised the ban as an attack on the free press.

“Banning news organisations from the White House based on the administration’s disapproval of their coverage is a clear attempt to control which voices are allowed to witness and report on the exercise of presidential power,” said the group’s president, Mark Schoeff Jr.

“Someone needs to explain to President Trump how the First Amendment works,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation director at PEN America.

Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said: “These outrageous attacks only demonstrate how scared he is of an informed public.”

What rights do White House journalists have and what is their job?

White House journalists report on the US president and what he says and does; they question officials at briefings, report on policy, and rotate through the small “press pool” that follows the president into the Oval Office and onto Air Force One.

The First Amendment protects what they publish, so the government can’t censor them or legally penalise them for their reporting.

Once press passes are offered, courts have ruled they can’t be denied or revoked arbitrarily.

The White House must follow fair standards and give notice and a chance to respond.

On that basis, CNN won a court order in 2018 restoring Jim Acosta’s revoked pass.

Television networks broadcast from the North Lawn of the White House, in Washington, DC [AFP]

Has Trump done this before?

The ban follows the president’s decision last year to bar Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events in retaliation for the news outlet’s decision not to follow his lead in changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, which lies partially in Mexican and other waters, to the Gulf of America.

AP has taken legal action against this.

Throughout his second term, Trump and his administration have attacked certain media outlets in court and through regulatory action.

Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media.

Since returning to office, Trump has pursued other legal action against a variety of different outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.

His administration is also involved in a long-simmering confrontation with ABC over renewal of its broadcast licences.

President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters [Samuel Corum/EPA]

Can outlets challenge this ban in court?

After the AP ban, the news agency filed a lawsuit, and that case is ongoing.

In the 1977 Sherrill v Knight case, a federal appeals court ruled that although the White House is not required to open its doors to the news media, once it establishes press facilities for credentialed journalists, it cannot deny access based on the content of a journalist’s coverage.

The court held that any denial must serve a compelling government interest and that the journalist must receive notice, the chance to respond and a final answer in writing.

It remains unclear at this stage what legal recourse CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) and Politico could pursue.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said Trump’s ban will likely be challenged soon.

“The United States has the First Amendment [of its Constitution] that says the government cannot restrict access to this sort of thing,” he said.

“Other presidents have been angry at press coverage before. Lyndon B Johnson used to rail about it. Richard Nixon wondered whether or not he could ban certain people from the White House as well. At every point, they were told it’s not a good look.”

这项禁令是特朗普对那些他认为对其政府不利的媒体机构的最新一次攻击。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普（中）在华盛顿特区的白宫 [Samuel Corum/EPA]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普采取了前所未有的举措，宣布“立即”禁止多家媒体进入白宫。

周五，他通过社交媒体平台 Truth Social 宣布了这项禁令，理由是“报道假新闻！”，并表示其他媒体也将效仿。

列表 1/3 “真的非常害怕”：米洛·扬诺普洛斯被美国驱逐出境后发声

列表 2/3：特朗普以“假新闻”为由禁止 CNN、MS NOW 和 Politico 进入白宫

特朗普禁止 CNN、MS NOW 和 Politico 进入白宫（共 3 项，此为第 3 项）

周五晚些时候，记者问特朗普这话是什么意思，特朗普说：“还有其他媒体也搞假新闻吗？嗯，你知道，《纽约时报》是假新闻，《华盛顿邮报》也是假新闻。”

以下是您需要了解的内容：

哪些新闻媒体被禁？原因是什么？

美国总统禁止 CNN、MS NOW（前身为 MSNBC）和 Politico 从白宫进行报道。

在Truth Social网站上，他指责这些媒体传播“假新闻”。他还补充说，这些媒体“不断撰写或报道有关特朗普政府的虚构或谎言”，但没有给出任何例子。

然而，当天在白宫举行的一场简短新闻发布会表明，这很可能是一个党派问题。白宫告诉记者，这些媒体“故意撰写负面新闻”，试图“削弱共和党和共和党政府。说实话，我们做得非常出色。”

记者们在进入白宫椭圆形办公室前聚集在布雷迪新闻发布室。[Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via AFP]

各方反应如何？

CNN谴责了这一举动，称其支持其白宫团队及其“公正准确的报道”。

“根据美国宪法，我们有权在不受政府阻碍或干预的情况下进行此类报道，”CNN发言人告诉半岛电视台。“如果特朗普总统威胁要实施的禁令真的生效，那将是对这项基本且受宪法保护的权利的非法侵犯。”

Politico表示，将“继续公正地报道本届白宫及未来各届白宫的动态。我们将坚决捍卫我们的第一修正案权利，反对任何限制这些权利的企图。”

该新闻机构的公关团队还驳斥了特朗普关于 Politico 获得政府补贴的另一项说法，称其“不实”，并表示该说法“已被彻底驳斥”。

MS NOW尚未就特朗普的声明发表评论。

CNN记者克里斯汀·霍姆斯准备在白宫发表讲话 [Daniel Heuer/Getty Images via AFP]

全国新闻俱乐部等多个团体立即批评这项禁令，称其是对新闻自由的攻击。

该组织主席马克·舍夫二世表示：“政府以不赞成新闻机构的报道为由禁止新闻机构进入白宫，这显然是为了控制哪些声音可以见证和报道总统权力的行使。”

“有人需要向特朗普总统解释一下第一修正案是如何运作的，”美国笔会新闻与虚假信息主管蒂姆·理查森说。

新闻自由基金会首席倡导官塞思·斯特恩表示：“这些令人发指的攻击只会表明他有多么害怕知情的公众。”

白宫记者拥有哪些权利？他们的工作职责是什么？

白宫记者报道美国总统的言行；他们在简报会上质问官员，报道政策，并轮流加入跟随总统进入椭圆形办公室和空军一号的小型“记者团”。

美国宪法第一修正案保护他们发表的内容，因此政府不能审查他们，也不能因为他们的报道而对他们进行法律处罚。

法院裁定，一旦发放记者证，就不能随意拒绝或撤销。

白宫必须遵循公平的原则，给予通知和回应的机会。

基于此，CNN 于 2018 年赢得了一项法院命令，恢复了吉姆·阿科斯塔被吊销的通行证。

电视网络从位于华盛顿特区的白宫北草坪进行直播。[法新社]

特朗普以前做过类似的事情吗？

此前，总统于去年决定禁止美联社记者进入椭圆形办公室、空军一号和其他活动场所，以报复该新闻机构没有跟随他，将部分位于墨西哥和其他水域的墨西哥湾更名为美洲湾。

美联社已就此事采取法律行动。

在第二个任期内，特朗普及其政府通过法庭诉讼和监管行动对某些媒体机构进行了攻击。

特朗普也曾当面或通过社交媒体抨击个别记者。

自重返总统职位以来，特朗普还对包括《纽约时报》、《华尔街日报》和英国广播公司在内的多家媒体提起了其他法律诉讼。

他的政府还与澳大利亚广播公司（ABC）就广播许可证续期问题存在长期的对抗。

唐纳德·特朗普总统回答记者提问 [Samuel Corum/EPA]

媒体机构能否通过法律途径挑战这项禁令？

美联社被禁后，该通讯社提起诉讼，该案目前仍在审理中。

在 1977 年的 Sherrill 诉 Knight 案中，联邦上诉法院裁定，虽然白宫没有义务向新闻媒体开放，但一旦为持有证件的记者设立了新闻设施，就不能以记者报道的内容为由拒绝其进入。

法院认为，任何拒绝都必须服务于令人信服的政府利益，并且记者必须收到通知、有机会作出回应，并获得书面最终答复。

目前尚不清楚 CNN、MS NOW（前身为 MSNBC）和 Politico 可以采取哪些法律途径。

半岛电视台驻华盛顿特区记者艾伦·费舍尔报道称，特朗普的禁令很可能很快就会受到挑战。

他说：“美国宪法第一修正案规定，政府不能限制人们获取这类信息。”

“其他总统以前也对媒体报道感到不满。林登·约翰逊就曾对此大发雷霆。理查德·尼克松也曾考虑过是否可以禁止某些人进入白宫。但每次他们都被告知这样做不太好。”