A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the Trump administration and temporarily overturned a previous ruling from a Trump-appointed judge.
President Donald Trump had banned access to the AP after the news outlet refused to follow his executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The AP filed a lawsuit for access to be returned, on the basis that the action violated First Amendment free speech rights.
‘We’re going to keep them out until such time that they agree that it’s the Gulf of America.’
“We grant in part the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal. The White House is likely to succeed on the merits because these restricted presidential spaces are not First Amendment fora opened for private speech and discussion,” the ruling read.
“The White House therefore retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted,” the ruling continued. “Moreover, without a stay, the government will suffer irreparable harm because the injunction impinges on the President’s independence and control over his private workspaces.”
The litigation will continue, however.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression issued a statement opposing the decision.
“The D.C. Circuit’s flawed reasoning allows the White House to get away with blatant viewpoint discrimination against media outlets it doesn’t like,” read the statement from FIRE.
“The district court’s initial ruling got it right,” they added. “The White House does not have to grant press access to everyone, but once it opens its doors to some journalists, it cannot exclude others simply because it doesn’t like their views or reporting.”
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Photo by OLIVER CONTRERAS/AFP via Getty Images
In February, the president said that he would consider lifting the ban only if the AP agreed to use his renaming of the gulf in their stylebook.
“We’re going to keep them out until such time that they agree that it’s the Gulf of America,” said the president to reporters. “I do think that some of the phrases they want to use are ridiculous, and I think, frankly, they’ve become obsolete.”
The latest ruling appeared to cite a reference from the wildly popular “Hamilton” musical.
“The Associated Press wants to be in the room where it happens,” it read.
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