Federal Judge Timothy J. Kelly has ruled that the White House must reissue CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta‘s press pass. The news comes despite Donald Trump’s tantrum during a press conference last week wherein he ousted the senior reporter.
CNN is touting the ruling as an initial victory against the 45th President of the United States and several of his top aides.
Although Kelly did not rule on the potential First and Fifth Amendment rights violation toward Acosta by POTUS, he did grant CNN’s request for a temporary restraining order.
“This is a great day for the First Amendment and journalism,” said Ted Boutrous, the outside attorney representing CNN in the lawsuit.
CNN reported that Acosta spoke briefly outside the court and thanked his colleagues in the press who supported the lawsuit. “Let’s get back to work,” he said.
The news network issued a public statement following the ruling.
“We are gratified with this result and we look forward to a full resolution in the coming days,” the statement read. “Our sincere thanks to all who have supported not just CNN, but a free, strong and independent American press.”
CNN has also asked the court for “permanent relief,” meaning a declaration from the judge that Trump’s revocation of Acosta’s press pass was unconstitutional. This legal conclusion could protect other reporters from retaliation by the administration.
“The revocation of Acosta’s credentials is only the beginning,” CNN’s lawsuit alleged, pointing out that Trump has threatened to strip others’ press passes too.
The White House Correspondents’ Association represents reporters from various news outlets. They released the following statement, calling Acosta’s ousting “wrong” and “dangerous.”
“Simply stated,” the association’s lawyers wrote in a brief on Thursday, “if the President were to have the absolute discretion to strip a correspondent of a hard pass, the chilling effect would be severe and the First Amendment protections afforded journalists to gather and report news on the activities on the President would be largely eviscerated.”
“The President of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him,” their statement continued.
The defendants include Trump, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and chief of staff John Kelly.
Acosta is expected to return to work at the White House immediately.
Photo: November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst