CNN filed a federal lawsuit against President Trump and his White House aides on Tuesday after the White House revoked the “hard pass” of White House press corps reporter Jim Acosta.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that Acosta was banned from the White House after he put his hand on a female intern who tried to wrestle the microphone from him during a tense exchange between Acosta and President Trump on Nov. 7.
READ ALSO: White House Revokes CNN Reporter’s Press Pass
On Tuesday, CNN filed a lawsuit in the D.C. District Court citing a violation of the First and Fifth Amendments and wrongful revocation of Acosta’s “hard pass” that gives him access to the White House.
A hard pass is a laminate that features the reporter’s picture and the media outlet he is affiliated with.
CNN asked the court to order the White House to grant “an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process.”
“While the suit is specific to CNN and Acosta, this could have happened to anyone,” the network said in a press release. “If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials.”
While they agree that Acosta can be cantankerous, News analysts accused Trump of targeting Acosta by calling on him during his news conference — knowing Acosta was going to do his usual grandstanding and not ask any real news questions.
Many fellow journalists agree that the White House should not have pulled Acosta’s pass.
They cite President Barack Obama who refused to call on certain Fox News reporters during his press conferences in the White House briefing room.
In 2009, President Obama revoked the press pass of Sarah Rivera Scott, a reporter for KABC News in Los Angeles.
Scott protested the revocation, noting that she was the only Hispanic reporter covering the White House briefings at the time, and she even provided translations for her colleagues.
But Obama’s top aides refused her personal appeal.
2,000 reporters hold hard passes, but the briefing room only seats 50 people with standing room for an additional 30 people.
White House press corps eporters need to be approved for a congressional press pass by the Standing Committee of Correspondents, and the White House further approves the reporters who get access to the briefing room.
Photos by Al Drago – Pool/Getty Images, Mark Wilson/Getty Images
