White House Blocks CNN Journalists From Xi State Dinner Arrival Hours After Judge Restores Access

The White House blocked a CNN reporter and producer from covering Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival for Thursday night’s state dinner, hours after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore the network’s White House access.

CNN said the White House told the network it could send a photojournalist and an audio technician to cover the arrival instead of the reporter and producer assigned to the event. Other television networks were permitted to bring reporters and producers, according to CNN.

The restriction followed a day of shifting access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order directing the administration to restore the outlets’ White House credentials. Kelly found they were likely to succeed on their claim that their hard passes had been revoked without constitutionally adequate due process.

President Donald Trump announced the ban last week after criticizing coverage by the three organizations. They sued Monday, alleging the administration retaliated against them over their reporting and violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights.

Journalists initially encountered problems entering the White House Thursday morning despite Kelly’s order, but their credentials were restored later in the day. CNN reporters were back on White House grounds by the afternoon.

Kelly’s ruling addressed the hard passes that allow journalists regular access to the White House grounds. Separate White House decisions govern staffing for limited-capacity events and participation in the television video pool, and CNN’s removal from that pool fell outside the ruling.

Thursday night’s restriction concerned that narrower event access. CNN retained its restored White House credentials while the administration limited which members of its team could cover Xi’s arrival for the dinner.

The state visit has already been affected by the separate dispute over television coverage. CNN was removed from the five-network video pool after Trump imposed the ban, and ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox declined to participate in the rotation while CNN remained excluded.

Kelly’s temporary order remains in effect for 14 days. The court is expected to consider whether longer-term relief is warranted as CNN, MS NOW and Politico continue their lawsuit over the administration’s press restrictions.