White House Excludes Politico from Air Force One Amid Ongoing Press Access Lawsuit

The White House has excluded Politico from traveling on Air Force One on Monday, preventing the news organization from fulfilling its press corps pool responsibilities. A spokesperson for Politico confirmed the exclusion from the out-of-town travel pool, which consists of a limited number of reporters who accompany the president on trips. President Donald Trump announced on September 18 that he was banning Politico, CNN, and MS NOW from the White House, a decision that legal experts have described as unconstitutional. On September 21, the affected news outlets filed a lawsuit claiming the ban violates the First and Fifth Amendments. Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, issuing a temporary restraining order that required the Trump administration to restore the journalists' press badges. Despite this ruling, the White House has continued to restrict CNN's access to Air Force One on days designated for its representation. Now, on the day designated for Politico, the publication has also been barred. The Trump administration has defended these restrictions by arguing that access to the White House complex differs from access to confined spaces such as Air Force One. The Associated Press is involved in a separate lawsuit regarding this distinction after Trump attempted to limit its access to certain areas last year. The action against Politico is expected to be included in the upcoming legal filings by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday regarding the news outlets' request for a preliminary injunction to ensure press access to the White House ahead of a potential trial. Ted Boutrous, the attorney representing the three news outlets, stated, "The law is absolutely clear. The harm to our clients, the First Amendment, and the public as a whole is profound. It is critical that the White House is enjoined to keep this unconstitutional ban on the free press out of commission." When asked last week if Trump was ignoring the court order, he denied it, while communications director Steven Cheung clarified that the judge's order pertained to renewing access to the White House, not necessarily to events on Air Force One. Cheung did not provide a comment regarding the exclusion of Politico on Monday. Trump is scheduled to travel to Nebraska for a campaign stop on Monday afternoon. Following Politico's exclusion, the White House offered the publication's seat to other news organizations that typically rotate in the out-of-town travel pool, but several declined the offer, according to sources familiar with the situation. Notably, the White House's guidance email to the press corps on Sunday night did not list any news outlets traveling with the president, which may indicate difficulty in filling Politico's seat.