White House Bars 2 CNN Journalists From Xi Dinner Arrival as Judge Restores 3 Outlets' Passes
Updated
Updated · CNN · Sep 24
White House Bars 2 CNN Journalists From Xi Dinner Arrival as Judge Restores 3 Outlets' Passes
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Sep 24
Summary
Two CNN journalists were blocked from covering Xi Jinping’s state-dinner arrival Thursday evening, and MS NOW reporters were also denied access despite a court-ordered restoration of White House credentials.
About an hour before Xi arrived, the White House told CNN it could attend only with a photojournalist and audio technician, excluding the network’s reporter and producer while other TV networks kept editorial crews.
The clash came after Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the administration overnight to temporarily reinstate badges for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, and after the outlets said they were still turned away Thursday morning.
The broader TV-pool dispute remains unresolved: major networks withheld routine White House pool coverage until CNN’s future pool role is clarified, limiting video from Trump and Xi’s events.
Kelly set a fast briefing schedule on a preliminary injunction, with the outlets due Sept. 28, the administration Oct. 2 and a reply Oct. 5.