Sunday 22 September 2019

Judge orders White House to return CNN reporter’s pass

The White House revoked Jim Acosta’s credentials after he and Donald Trump tangled during a press conference.

Jim Acosta leaves federal court in Washington (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

By Jessica Gresko and Michael Balsamo, Associated Press

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, an appointee of President Donald Trump, announced his decision after a hearing in Washington, saying Mr Acosta’s credentials would be returned immediately and reactivated to allow him access to the White House.

CNN had asked the judge to force the White House to immediately hand back the credentials that give Mr Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, access to the White House complex for press briefings and other events.

The White House said it would comply with the order, but planned to develop “rules” for orderly press conferences.

CNN asked for Mr Acosta’s credentials to be restored while a lawsuit over their revocation goes forward. The suit that his First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated when the White House revoked his credentials

Mr Acosta thanked the judge and fellow reporters who supported him, adding: “Let’s go back to work!”

The White House pulled his credentials after he and the president tangled during a press conference last week.

The judge said the government could not say who initially decided to revoke Mr Acosta’s pass.

The White House had spelled out its reasons for revoking his credentials in a tweet from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and in a statement after CNN filed its lawsuit, but the judge said those “belated efforts were hardly sufficient to satisfy due process”.

The judge also found that Mr Acosta suffered “irreparable harm”, dismissing the government’s argument that CNN could send other reporters to cover the White House in his place.

Judge Kelly told lawyers to file additional court papers in the case by Monday.


At last week’s press conference, which followed the midterm elections, he was taking questions from reporters and called on Mr Acosta, who asked about Mr Trump’s statements about a caravan of migrants making its way to the US-Mexico border.

After a terse exchange, Mr Trump told him, “That’s enough”, several times while calling on another reporter.

Donald Trump clashes with Jim Acosta (Evan Vucci/AP)


Mr Trump responded by saying he was not concerned about the investigation, calling it a “hoax”, and then criticised Mr Acosta, calling him a “rude, terrible person”.

The White House pulled his credentials hours later.

The White House’s explanation for why it seized his credentials have shifted over the last week.

Ms Sanders initially explained the decision by accusing Mr Acosta of making improper physical contact with the intern seeking to grab the microphone.

But that rationale disappeared after witnesses backed Mr Acosta’s account that he was just trying to keep the microphone, and Ms Sanders distributed a doctored video that made it appear he was more aggressive than he actually was.

On Tuesday, she accused Mr Acosta of being unprofessional by trying to dominate questioning at the news conference.

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