TOH edition: Wednesday, 23 September 2026 · Governance & Rights
Three Newsrooms Were Banned From the White House. The Networks That Were Not Banned Refused to Take Their Seats — and the Case Landed With the Judge Who Gave Jim Acosta His Pass Back.
Reported by NBC News
Publisher date:
After CNN, MS NOW and Politico were barred from White House grounds on 19 September, the television networks that were not banned refused to step in and provide pool coverage of the president's activities on Monday 21 September. The three outlets sued the same day; the emergency motion to restore their hard passes was randomly assigned to US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who in 2018 ruled that the White House could not revoke Jim Acosta's credential without notice. A hearing was set for Wednesday.
Press access disputes are usually described as a lone outlet against the state. This time the outlets with nothing to lose declined the vacated seats, and an existing precedent was already waiting in court.
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