Citizens Sue Trump Administration Over White House Media Access Restrictions

A group of private citizens has sued United States President Donald Trump's administration over its restrictions on news outlets covering the White House. The lawsuit was filed on Monday in a federal court in New York.

The plaintiffs argue they are losing access to vital information that media outlets covering Trump used to provide. The lawsuit says all of the plaintiffs rely on the White House press corps for independent reporting about the president and his administration, and use that reporting in their scholarship, teaching, journalism or advocacy.

The lawsuit is described as the first lodged not by the news outlets being banned, but by those who consume the news and rely on it for their work.

The plaintiffs include a human rights advocate, a media watchdog, a university history professor, a high school teacher, a legal journalist and a student journalist. Each argues they need unbiased, diverse media reporting from the White House to do their work.

Peter Schmidt-Nowara, a high school social studies teacher in New York City, said in a statement he is gravely concerned that the Trump administration's restrictions on White House reporters are cutting off access to crucial information. He said he joined the lawsuit because his students deserve to know what is happening in their government and to hear from a free and independent press.

Kenneth Roth, a senior fellow at Yale University and former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said the restrictions on press access were familiar hallmarks in countries whose leaders have become authoritarian. In a statement he said that worldwide he has seen how government leaders' efforts to penalise independent journalists are a prelude to the rise of autocracy.

Trump already faces several legal challenges to his practice of banning journalists from outlets he dislikes from accessing the White House. Last month, he banned journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from attending news conferences at the White House. A federal judge later ruled the order was unconstitutional, a violation of the First Amendment, which protects freedom of the press, and ordered access be restored. However, the Trump administration continues to fight the ruling.

Last week, Trump dismissed reporting that he planned to evict journalists from the White House press briefing room and restore a swimming pool that was housed there starting in 1933. But he said he is still considering moving the press out of the briefing room.

In a social media post, Trump said he is thinking about moving the press and putting them in a different location, and that he will use that location for very badly needed space.