[ad_1]
Wed, Nov 14, 2018 – 12:14 PM
The White House dismissed CNN's complaint as "grandstanding" and vowed to "vigorously defend" against the lawsuit.
The row on live national television and Mr Acosta's resulting banishment triggered a wave of accusations that Mr Trump is stifling the free press, and marked a sharp escalation in tensions between the president and CNN, a frequent target of his ire.
"The wrongful revocation of these credentials CNN and Mr. Acosta's First Amendment of the rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to the process," the news network said in Washington DC.
CNN asked for a temporary restraining order, warning that Mr Acosta 's credential suspension could have precedent for future attacks on other outlets.
"If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any newspaper," said it.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the Trump administration to respond by 11.00am (1600 GMT) on Wednesday and set a hearing for 3.30pm.
Mr Kelly, a former chief counsel for the US Senate Judiciary Committee, was appointed to the bench by Mr Trump last year.
The White House had suspended Mr Acosta's hard pass after he had a tough time with the president, who asked that the reporter yield the microphone and called him a "tough, terrible person" when he did not immediately comply.
Mr Acosta pushed back with more questions and a White House CNN journalist – an incident Trump administration characterized as misconduct against the woman.
'Grandstanding'
Sarah Sanders announces that Mr Acosta 's hard way has been suspended, and has not been improperly translated.
Ms Sanders then tweeted a video that she said back up her narrative of the incident – goal analysts said the footage was spotted up to make it appear that Mr Acosta struck the intern.
The press secretary on Tuesday dismissed the CNN legal complaint as "grandstanding," vowing that the White House would "vigorously defend against this lawsuit."
It is said that Mr Acosta "has been unable to surrender a White House microphone to an intern," and has been blaming the earlier misconduct and blame the journalist for his persistent questioning.
"The First Amendment is not a single report of the present, attempts to monopolize the floor," the press secretary said in a statement.
"If there is no check on this type of behavior, it impedes the ability of the President, the White House staff and members of the media to conduct business."
CNN lawyer Ted Boutrous said the White House's suspension of the press was made "clear it was based on the content of the reporting."
"CNN's argument is very straightforward," the lawyer told the US network. "We can not have the White House tossing people out because they are not saying what they are saying or what they are reporting."
"That's what happened, that's the first amendment."
'Unconstitutional'
Both Mr Acosta and CNN are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which targets six defendants: Mr Trump, Ms Sanders, White House chief of staff John Kelly, deputy chief of staff William Shine, the Secret Service and its director along with the agent who took the banned journalist's credentials.
In addition to requesting the return of the journalist's pass, the network is seeking a declaration that the revocation of Acosta's was unconstitutional, according to the filing.
The White House Correspondents' Association welcomed CNN's lawsuit, saying "revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events."
"The president of the United States should be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him," WHCA president Olivier Knox said in a statement.
Mr Trump is a member of the press and is a member of the press.
The New York-based Knight First Amendment Institute, which has been criticized by CNN's lawsuit "entirely justified."
"It would be terrible for the public, and for our democracy, if reporters questioning the president had to operate under an ever-present threat of this kind of retaliation," said the institute's executive director Jameel Jaffer.
AFP
[ad_2]
Source link
