A US federal judge on Tuesday ordered the White House to restore The Associated Press’ (AP) access to US President Donald Trump’s official events, saying it had no right to bar media for their “viewpoints.”
AP journalists and photographers have been barred from the Oval Office and from traveling on Air Force One since mid-February because of the news agency’s decision to continue referring to the “Gulf of Mexico” — and not the “Gulf of America” as decreed by Trump.
US District Judge Trevor McFadden said the “viewpoint-based denial of the AP’s access” was a violation of the first amendment to the US constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press.
Photo: Reuters
“If the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” McFadden said.
“The government has singled out the AP because of its refusal to update the Gulf’s name in its stylebook,” the judge said. “The government offers no reason besides the Gulf issue for the exclusion.”
He ordered the White House to “immediately rescind the denial of the AP’s access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other limited spaces ... when such spaces are made open to other members of the White House press pool.”
The judge put off implementation of his order for five days to give the White House time to reply or to file an appeal with a higher court.
AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton welcomed the court’s decision.
“Today’s ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation,” Easton said in a statement. “This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the US Constitution.”
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