Blanche Defends 3-Outlet White House Ban as Judge Restores Access
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Sep 27
Blanche Defends 3-Outlet White House Ban as Judge Restores Access
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Sep 27
Summary
Three mainstream outlets at the center of the White House ban were defended by Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said access is a "privilege" rather than a right and denied Trump had truly cut them off.
Thursday's temporary restraining order from Judge Timothy Kelly restored credentials for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico after he found they met the high bar for emergency relief.
Saturday's Tennessee trip still exposed limits of that restoration: CNN, scheduled to provide pool coverage, said it was blocked from boarding Air Force One, while Blanche argued such travel decisions are routine.
National security became the administration's main justification, but Blanche offered no specific examples of inaccurate reporting, and Kelly wrote the record suggested Trump acted over coverage he viewed as untruthful and negative.
Blanche also backed Trump's light-touch AI stance, saying existing criminal and civil laws give the Justice Department tools to police abuses without new rules that could cede ground to China.