Last week, after a testy exchange with CNN’s Jim Acosta during a press conference, Trump decided to bar the reporter altogether. To justify this act, Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted out a doctored video that purported to show Acosta being “rough” with a White House intern, when in fact no such thing had taken place. Our own Roger Sollenberger wrote about the terrible implications of the whole event, and now, it appears that CNN is fighting back.
Per CNN itself, the network is suing “President Trump and several of his aides, seeking the immediate restoration of chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s access to the White House.”
The story continues:
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning. Both CNN and Acosta are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. There are six defendants: Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, the director of the Secret Service, and the Secret Service officer who took Acosta’s hard pass away last Wednesday. The officer is identified as John Doe in the suit, pending his identification.
This follows a formal letter from last Friday demanding his reinstatement, and the network is seeking an immediate injunction to allow Acosta back in the White House while the lawsuit plays out. Here’s their statement:
“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.”
In an internal email, CNN president Jeff Zucker said, “this is not a step we have taken lightly. But the White House action is unprecedented.”