Justice Department asks court to let Trump reinstate White House press ban

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The Justice Department argued that President Donald Trump should be allowed to reinstate his White House ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico in a court filing late Friday ahead of a hearing next week in the lawsuit from the news companies.

“[T]he President determined that Plaintiff news networks had published stories that adversely affect national security, including publishing possibly classified or sensitive information,” the Justice Department argued. “In doing so, these outlets each demonstrated their willingness to publish information that undermines national security. Restricting access to the White House removes one avenue for these outlets to obtain such harmful information.”

In a court filing Monday night, the news organizations argued that the stories Trump was objecting to were just the type of reporting the Constitution’s framers intended to protect. They called the ban an “unlawful assault on the most fundamental First Amendment freedoms.”

Judge Timothy Kelly is currently considering whether to extend a two-week order restoring the outlets’ access to the White House – an order that expires at the end of next week.

Kelly will hold a hearing Thursday on the news outlets’ request for a preliminary injunction, which, if granted, would last for a longer period of time while the case plays out.

Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images

美国司法部在周五晚些时候提交的一份法庭文件中辩称，应该允许唐纳德·特朗普总统恢复其在白宫对 CNN、MS NOW 和 Politico 的禁令。下周将举行听证会，审理这三家新闻公司提起的诉讼。

司法部辩称：“总统认定原告新闻机构发布的新闻报道对国家安全造成不利影响，其中包括发布可能涉及机密或敏感信息。这些媒体机构的所作所为表明了它们发布危害国家安全信息的意愿。限制进入白宫可以切断这些媒体机构获取此类有害信息的途径之一。”

周一晚间提交的法庭文件中，这些新闻机构辩称，特朗普反对的报道恰恰是宪法制定者意图保护的那类新闻报道。他们称这项禁令是“对最基本的宪法第一修正案自由的非法侵犯”。

蒂莫西·凯利法官目前正在考虑是否延长一项为期两周的命令，该命令恢复了媒体进入白宫的权限——该命令将于下周末到期。

凯利将于周四举行听证会，审议新闻媒体提出的初步禁令申请。如果获得批准，禁令将在案件审理期间持续更长时间。