White House denies access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters

The White House on Saturday denied entry to reporters from three major news organisations — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — a day after President Donald Trump said he would bar the outlets because of coverage he considered "fake news."

CNN's Betsy Klein and MS NOW's Akayla Gardner both reported live that they had been turned away and their press badges deactivated upon arriving for work. Shortly after, Politico said its reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry and had her badge confiscated.

All three outlets indicated they would consider legal action. Politico's editor-in-chief, Jonathan Greenberger, said the outlet would vigorously defend its First Amendment rights. CNN said it would not be deflected from holding government accountable, while MS NOW said it would take all necessary steps to defend independent journalism's role in democracy.

Part of a broader pattern

The move is the latest in Trump's long-running effort to restrict coverage from journalists he finds objectionable, using both legal and administrative measures. White House Correspondents' Association President Jacqui Heinrich called for the outlets' access to be immediately restored, warning that a standard used to exclude one outlet over its coverage could later be applied to any other.

Last year, Trump barred Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office and other events after the agency declined to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America." The AP's lawsuit over that ban remains ongoing. On Saturday, the AP said it supported the newly banned outlets, stating that no news organisation should be retaliated against by the government over the words it uses.

Since returning to office, Trump has also pursued legal action against outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC, and his administration remains in a standoff with ABC over its broadcast licence renewal.