Attorney General defends Trump White House ban on three news outlets

US Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Trump administration's decision to bar three news organizations — CNN, MS Now and Politico — from White House press credentials, telling a Sunday television audience that being present at the White House is 'a privilege, not a right.'

The ban took effect on 19 September. Blanche said the president was 'sick and tired' of what he considers inaccurate coverage from the affected outlets.

Legal fight continues

A judge issued a temporary restraining order last Thursday requiring the White House to restore the journalists' credentials, and they regained entry to the executive complex. However, CNN said on Saturday its journalists were again barred, this time from the press pool traveling with the president aboard Air Force One. Blanche said such decisions about which reporters fly with the president are made routinely and are not unusual.

The administration maintains that the outlets' reporting represents a 'national security problem,' though Trump himself previously said there was no particular reason for the action, instead accusing the outlets of intentionally writing negative coverage to harm Republicans.

District Judge Timothy Kelly, in his ruling, found nothing in the record suggesting the credential revocations were driven by national security concerns, noting that Trump himself had framed the decision around the outlets' alleged inaccuracy and negativity.

The dispute unfolds against a difficult political backdrop ahead of November's midterm elections, with a recent poll showing Trump's approval rating at a record low. Former president Bill Clinton recently remarked that he too had once wanted to restrict press access but was glad he never did.