A federal judge temporarily blocks President Donald Trump's ban three news outlets Ordered early Thursday, from the White House grounds CNN, MS Now and Politico Their access should be restored.

This decision gives at least a temporary relief to the outlets extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets Whose coverage he dislikes.

Trump first announced he was banning the outlets on Friday, attacking what he said "Fake news," and later argued that his reporting was a threat to national security. The outlets argued in a joint lawsuit that the ban was a blatant violation of the First Amendment because it singled them out for the content of their coverage.

In his late-night ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to "immediately withdraw, restore, and restore" access to the three outlets. He said he had met the legal threshold to obtain a temporary restraining order effective for 14 days, and was likely to succeed in showing that his press passes were canceled without due process.

“This is a high hurdle, but the plaintiffs have met it,” he wrote.

A few hours later, a CNN reporter said she was barred from entering the White House complex.

Kelly — whom Trump nominated in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist's access restored in a similar case in 2018 — said the government should have clear standards for conduct by which press passes can be revoked. He described the standard for offensive reporting outlined in letters sent by the White House to outlets as "so vague that it will hardly be of any use."

The judge also made clear that he did not buy the administration's argument that news outlets' reporting endangered national security — and said Trump himself had not initially used that argument, focusing only on what he called negative coverage.

"Nothing in the record...suggests that the revocation of Plaintiff's Hard Pass was motivated by national security concerns," he wrote.

The decision came after Kelly heard arguments in an emergency hearing on Wednesday. Temporary restraining orders are generally designed to maintain the status quo until a closer review of the case is conducted by the court.

"This is a strong ruling affirming press freedom, due process, and the rule of law," Theodore Butrus Jr., a lawyer for the outlets, said in an emailed statement. "We greatly appreciate the court's prompt action."

The White House did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press requesting comment.

Lawyers debate access to the White House and any threat to national security

Boutrous argued at the hearing that renewed access was urgently needed, saying the restrictions at the time of important news events caused irreparable harm to outlets. "We're at war. We have world leaders coming to Washington."

Justice Department lawyer Michael Welchik echoed the administration's argument that the President has the right to choose who moves into the White House.

"Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right," Velchik said.
Arguing that Trump did not engage in viewpoint discrimination — the government singling out specific media outlets for the content of what they say or publish — Welchik said the president had criticized other news organizations, but not banned them. For example, he said Trump had called ABC "the worst."

"The President must be able to take immediate action to protect national security," he said.

In response, Boutrous said, "Suddenly this is a national security matter," arguing that the President raised that point only after the lawsuit was filed.

“Trump continues to prove our point,” Boutros said, noting how the president has consistently used negative coverage about him as justification for the ban.

Kelly seemed to agree, writing about the national security claim: "Certainly, that's not what President Trump said when he announced he was 'banning' Plaintiff from the White House – instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of Plaintiff's reporting."

Trump administration outlines each news outlet's 'reporting incidents'

In a filing Tuesday, administration lawyers identified detailed letters sent to each of the three news outlets that included "a non-exhaustive list of reporting incidents that threatened national security and spread falsehoods."

Among the incidents cited were: CNN reporting on "'top-secret' construction details related to the East Wing bunker"; MS Now is reporting "on alleged leak investigation"; And Politico published "a document detailing funding for the White House Ballroom that contains intricate details of how the Secret Service will invest in security improvements."

Politico's letter also cites a June report in which a "senior administration official ... speaking on condition of anonymity" predicted whether the initial deal would end the conflict with Iran.

That item appears to reference a background briefing set up by the White House, where an official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration. Several other outlets also reported the officer's comments.

The ban prompted other media outlets to take action in solidarity. The US network press pool – which consists of five major networks including CNN – has suspended coverage of Trump pool events until further notice.

That rotating pool was not addressed in the decision.

After the hearing on Wednesday, the network continued its ban on Trump coverage. At Joint Base Andrews, where the president formally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping, reporters from Fox News, CBS and NBC were present, but not filming.

Other television outlets that had crews present, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News and LindellTV.

Ahead of Wednesday's hearing, an amicus brief was filed by other news groups, including the AP, urging the court to immediately restore the three outlets' White House access.

-Jocelyn Noveck, Hailey Golden and Laurie Kelman, The Associated Press