U.S. broadcaster CNN has once again been barred from joining President Donald Trump on Air Force One as he traveled to official and political events. The ongoing dispute between the White House and the network continues, despite a recent federal court ruling that restored CNN journalists’ access to the White House. CNN is now considering additional legal steps.
CNN attorney Theodore Boutrous, in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, noted that the administration has repeatedly prevented the network’s reporters from participating in the rotating press pool that accompanies the President on trips.
CNN says it has been excluded from trips at least four times
According to CNN’s legal counsel, President Trump’s administration has denied the network’s journalists the ability to travel on Air Force One on at least four occasions—even though CNN was designated as part of the broadcast pool for those trips.
These restrictions reportedly occurred during Trump’s trips to the United Nations General Assembly, a college football game in Tennessee, visits to Texas and Oklahoma, and most recently, during an October trip to Georgia and Florida.
CNN claims that its exclusion disrupts the system in which select news outlets rotate to provide video coverage of the president’s activities. The gathered information and footage are then shared with other media organizations.
Boutrous described the administration’s actions as discriminatory and illegal. According to media reports, the Justice Department has been given two days to respond. If the situation does not change, CNN is prepared to return to court.
Judge restored White House access, but dispute continues
The conflict escalated in September when President Trump announced he would revoke White House access for journalists from CNN, Politico, and then-MS NOW, criticizing their coverage as false and misleading.
The affected outlets filed a lawsuit, arguing that the ban was retaliation for their reporting and violated the constitutional protection of freedom of speech and the press.
Federal Judge Timothy Kelly subsequently ordered that access for reporters be restored, issuing a preliminary injunction on October 13 that permits their presence in the White House complex as court proceedings continue.
The judge found that the plaintiffs had reasonable grounds to argue that the ban could have infringed their constitutional rights. The administration has appealed the decision.
The ruling did not explicitly resolve access to Air Force One or spell out the rules for participating in presidential travel press pools. That gap is now at the heart of this new dispute.
White House says access to Air Force One is not a right
The Trump administration stresses its discretion in deciding which media outlets receive access to areas with limited capacity and high security. The White House argues that no journalist has an automatic constitutional right to enter the Oval Office, board Air Force One, or access other sensitive spaces.
Media representatives, on the other hand, emphasize that access rules should not be used to punish outlets for critical reporting. The dispute concerns not just one network, but also the broader issue of how the government provides journalists with information about presidential activities.
The White House has yet to publicly respond to CNN’s latest legal warning. The Justice Department has also not commented on the letter, according to available reports.
The dispute could have broader consequences for U.S. media
The CNN case is part of a broader conflict between the Trump administration and media outlets that the president frequently criticizes. Such disputes raise questions about the limits of executive power and how press freedom is enforced in practice.
The outcome of further court proceedings could affect the rules governing how the White House allocates spots in the press pool for presidential trips. It may also clarify to what extent general White House access differs from attendance at events with limited capacity.
For more on current developments in U.S. politics, see our article on Trump’s remarks about a potential Ukraine deal following his call with Putin.
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This article was translated from the original Slovak version with the assistance of AI.
