The White House defended revoking reporters’ passes for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, accusing the outlets of falsehoods about national security and sensitive disclosures. A judge ordered access restored Thursday; Status identified JD Vance as the source in a cited Politico story.
The letters, issued Tuesday days after Trump announced the outlets would be barred, cited some reports several months or more than a year old on military issues, Russia sanctions and the White House ballroom project. One cited Politico article on a preliminary Iran-war deal drew on a June White House call, where journalists are often asked to attribute comments to a “senior administration official.” The White House claimed a Politico story on the ballroom showed a willingness to publish sensitive, undisclosed security information, although government court filings and Trump on Truth Social had detailed the project.
After the outlets sued, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly rejected the administration’s national-security rationale at 1 a.m. Thursday and ordered access restored. The White House said badges were reactivated and returned by 9:55 a.m., but reporters were not admitted to White House grounds until after noon. The outlets had until 5 p.m. Sept. 25 to contest the removal or its factual basis.
