Could a historic Supreme Court showdown redefine the First Amendment and forever alter how journalists access the White House?

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Yes, this could become a major Supreme Court test of press freedom, but the immediate legal terrain strongly favors the news outlets. The central issue is not whether journalists have an unlimited right to enter any government building. Courts have long said they do not. The stronger argument for CNN, MS NOW and Politico is that once the White House opens press facilities to journalists generally, it cannot exclude particular outlets because officials dislike their coverage. Trump’s own explanation — that the outlets were banned for “fake news” and negative reporting — is the kind of evidence courts often treat as viewpoint discrimination. That is why legal experts and press-freedom groups say the outlets would likely win emergency relief. The key precedents include Sherrill v. Knight, which limited arbitrary White House credential denials, and the more recent ruling in the Associated Press access case, where a judge said the White House cannot bar journalists from opened facilities based on viewpoint. Similar reasoning has appeared in other press-access disputes involving government-created media forums. The White House cites Zemel v. Rusk, but that case dealt with travel restrictions and the broader principle that publication rights do not guarantee unlimited information-gathering rights. Critics say it does not authorize punishing specific journalists for disfavored reporting. If the case reaches the Supreme Court, the justices could either reaffirm a narrow but important…

Fox News Joins 5-Network Boycott of Trump White House Events Over 3-Outlet Ban

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Fox News Joins 5-Network Boycott of Trump White House Events Over 3-Outlet Ban

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