Attorney General Todd Blanche clashed with ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Sunday over Trump’s White House press ban, defending the national-security rationale; CNN, MS NOW and Politico had regained credentials Thursday after a judge ordered access restored.
On ABC’s “This Week,” Blanche said Trump had not “denied access” and called White House access a privilege, not a right. He argued that what he described as misinformation, inaccuracy and one-sided coverage from some outlets can become a national-security issue; Raddatz said the president cited their reporting, not national security, when announcing the ban.
The judge granted a temporary restraining order, writing that nothing in the record predating the lawsuit suggested the outlets’ hard-pass revocations were motivated by national-security concerns. Blanche declined to address the judge’s statements, saying litigation was ongoing, and did not answer Raddatz’s question about what the First Amendment means to him personally.
