Major TV Networks Halt White House Pool Coverage in Solidarity with Banned CNN

Major U.S. television networks have suspended their pooled video coverage of President Donald Trump in solidarity with CNN, following the administration's decision to ban the network from the White House last Friday. NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox News—the four other outlets that make up the White House TV pool alongside CNN—announced they would cease their rotating coverage duties. The networks share video footage gathered both inside the White House and around the country as a near-permanent fixture of the American presidency. In an email to TV pool subscribers, the Washington bureau chief for Fox News stated that the decision to halt pool coverage followed the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned duties. The five networks published a joint statement emphasizing that the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government, adding that no administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting. Concurrently, CNN, MS Now, and Politico filed a joint lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday, alleging that President Trump violated the First Amendment and due process by stripping the outlets of their White House access in retaliation for coverage he disliked. The lawsuit argues that the ban is an unconstitutional attempt to pressure news organizations to avoid critical reporting. In his announcement of the ban last Friday, President Trump attributed his decision to a pattern of producing unfavorable coverage. The unfolding press access dispute runs parallel to a busy week of international diplomacy for the administration, with the president traveling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly and scheduled meetings with various world leaders.