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CNN on Tuesday continued the Trump administration with the goal of restoring the press credentials of its White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, in a dispute highlighting the increasingly tense dynamics between President Trump and the media.
In a lawsuit filed in the Federal District Court, the network argued that the removal of Mr. Acosta's press card to the White House violated the rights of his first amendment to freely report to the government. CNN also alleged that the administration had violated Mr. Acosta's due process rights by revoking his powers without notice.
Acosta, who has repeatedly met with Trump, angered the president at an official press conference last week with questions about immigration and the special council's investigation. The CNN correspondent did not give up the microphone after Mr. Trump tried to move to another reporter.
Hours later, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that the administration had withdrawn Mr. Acosta's powers, which allowed him access to the White House grounds. The administration falsely claimed that Mr. Acosta had put his hands on a White House intern who had tried to pick up his microphone at the press conference.
"Although the lawsuit is specific to CNN and Acosta, it could have happened to anyone," CNN said in a statement. "If nothing is done, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous cooling effect for any journalist covering our elected officials."
Ms. Sanders responded shortly after the complaint was filed.
"This is a little more CNN's platform, and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit," the press secretary said in a statement, noting that dozens of other CNN journalists had kept their references. to the White House.
In her comment, Ms. Sanders did not mention her initial contention that Mr. Acosta reacted improperly internally. Instead, she wrote that "he physically refused to hand over a White House microphone to a trainee so that other journalists could ask their questions."
"The White House can not hold an orderly press conference and just when a journalist does this, which is neither appropriate nor professional," Sanders wrote.
Mr. Acosta, who has a reputation for being a star among some of his press colleagues, is not the first White House reporter to aggressively interrogate a president in public. One of his predecessors, ABC correspondent Sam Samson, said in a memo filed in CNN's lawsuit that he had no precedent in verifying a journalist's credentials and that he "did not" would never have imagined such a possible action. "
In addressing the courts, CNN may have taken the most aggressive action ever taken by a media outlet against a president who systematically defamed journalists and the media since the beginning of his campaign in 2015. Mr. Trump's denial of the media as the American people "- and its popularization of" false news "as a means of avoiding critical coverage – alarmed press freedom groups around the world .
Proponents of Trump, however, are likely to rely on the lawsuit as evidence of the president's assertion that the media, including CNN, have a bias against him. "CNN sucks!" Was a frequent song at Mr. Trump's rallies.
Floyd Abrams, the First Amendment lawyer, said in an interview Tuesday that the court action of the network was necessary, even though he had acknowledged the potential political fallout.
"I can understand the reluctance – at a time when the president says" CNN is hostile "- that a lawsuit be filed with the caption" CNN v. Donald Trump, "said Mr. Abrams." That being said, a strong response is sometimes necessary, both for the institution itself and for the wider cause for which it speaks effectively. "
Ms. Sanders is named as defendant in the lawsuit, along with Mr. Trump; his chief of staff, John Kelly; White House Communications Strategy Leader Bill Shine; and secret services.
The White House Correspondents' Association issued a statement on Tuesday to CNN and Acosta.
"Revoking access to the White House complex was a disproportionate response to last Wednesday's events," said group president Olivier Knox. "The President of the United States should not have the task of arbitrarily choosing the men and women who cover it."
The Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm represents CNN. The legal team includes Theodore B. Olson, Solicitor General of former President George W. Bush. Mr. Trump has already tried to hire Mr. Olson for his own legal team, without success.
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