A journalist looks at his mobile phone next to a sign which reads, “We Stand with AP,” a reference to the case between the Associated Press and the White House, at the White House in Washington, March 26. (Carlos Barria, Reuters)
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WASHINGTON ā A U.S. judge on Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump’s White House to lift access restrictions imposed on the Associated Press over the news agency’s decision to continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage.
The order from U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, who Trump appointed during his first term, requires the White House to allow the Associated Press’s journalists to access the Oval Office, Air Force One and events held at the White House while the news agency’s lawsuit moves forward.
The Associated Press sued three senior Trump aides in February, alleging the restrictions were an attempt to coerce the press into using the administration’s preferred language. The lawsuit alleged the restrictions violated protections under the U.S. Constitution for free speech and due process, since the Associated Press was unable to challenge the ban.
Lawyers for the Trump administration have argued that the news agency does not have a right to what the White House has called “special access” to the president.
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