CNN sues President Trump and his aides over the ban on Jim Acosta
- CNN has initiated a lawsuit against President Trump and several of his aides over the matter of the ban from the White House of Jim Acosta.
- It may be recalled that Jim was asking some questions to Donald Trump during a news conference when he was told to stop and hand over the microphone and on not doing so, he was handed the ban.
CNN and the new lawsuit against the White House
CNN has sued President Trump and his aides present at the press conference in which CNN chief Correspondent Jim Acosta was labeled their rude behavior. The outlet has asked for the immediate restoration of Jim’s access to the White House.
The lawsuit states that by banning Jim Acosta from the White House, Trump and his aides have violated Jim’s and CNN’s First and Fifth Amendment rights. CNN in a statement said:
“CNN filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration this morning in DC District Court, It demands the return of the White House credentials of CNN’s Chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process. We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process.”
The details of the lawsuit
The case has been filed at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on 13 November 2018 Tuesday morning. The suit has already been docketed and assigned to Judge Timothy J. Kelly who is a Trump-appointed Judge.
The defendants have been given 14 November 2018 as a deadline to file their responses. The hearing o the case is scheduled for 14 November 2018 at 3.30 pm.
The case has been filed jointly by CNN and Jim Acosta who are plaintiffs in the case.
The defendants named are Donald Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, Secret Service director Randolph Alles, and the Secret Service officer who took away Acosta’s hard entry passed away last Wednesday. All these people had announced and enforced the ban.
CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker released an internal memory to the staff which read:
“This is not a step we have taken lightly. But the White House action is unprecedented,”
CNN is seeking g a preliminary injunction so that Jim can be reimbursed stated to the White House immediately. They are also asking for a court ruling that the action should not be repeated in the future.
CNN case will be fought by CNN Worldwide chief counsel David Vigilante who will be joined by two prominent attorneys, Ted Boutrous and Theodore Olson. The two are partners at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
What do the defendants say?
Sanders stated that CNN was grandstanding and that the White House would aggressively defend itself. She also said that there are a great number of other CNN employees who have White House hard passes.
The White House Correspondents’ Association has expressed its support for CNN. They said that the President arbitrarily picks the men and women who cover him. CNN has also stressed that any network could have been targeted and may be targeted in the future.
It said:
“If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials.”
The ACLU said:
“it is un-American and unlawful for the president to expel a reporter from the WH briefing room for doing his job. It shouldn’t take a lawsuit from CNN to remind the president of the First Amendment.”
Source: CNN