US Department of Justice: The White House has the right to prevent media coverage

The US Department of Justice concluded, on Tuesday, that the White House may ban CNN, MS Now, and Politico from media coverage at the presidential residence, at the request of President Donald Trump, ahead of a court hearing, according to Agence France-Presse.

These three leading media institutions resorted to the judiciary, after Trump issued a decision on Friday to prevent them from entering the presidential residence as punishment for publishing what he describes as “fake news.”

A US District Court judge scheduled a hearing to consider the case on Wednesday.

The Department of Justice stated, in a filing submitted to the court, that Trump can “control the access of journalists to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office,” noting that “entering the White House is a privilege, not an acquired right.”

The judicial file indicated that letters were sent, on Tuesday, to these media organizations, explaining the president’s reasons for the ban, and they have until Friday to object.

According to the file, the letters refer to a number of “media incidents” committed by these institutions, which “threatened national security and spread misleading information.”

The letter addressed to CNN referred to a report about Trump’s plans to build a shelter under the ballroom in the East Wing that he is building, which “revealed top-secret construction details,” in addition to several other reports about the war with Iran, according to what the network said.

Journalists from CNN, MSN Now (formerly MSNBC), and Politico were prevented from entering the White House campus on Saturday, and their permits were confiscated.

In a move of solidarity with the three institutions, the other four American networks participating in the system of joint coverage of the president’s activities, i.e. CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox, decided to suspend their coverage of the White House, according to a statement seen by Agence France-Presse.

Photographers from a number of media outlets, including Agence France-Presse, also expressed their solidarity with the three institutions.

An “attack” on the Constitution

In their lawsuit, the three media organizations requested a temporary restraining order against the ban, claiming that it violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of the press.

The institutions said in their file submitted to the court that “this ban constitutes a direct attack on the First Amendment, and a flagrant violation of our most important constitutional principles.”

On Tuesday, Trump hinted that CNN should not cover him outside the White House either.

"I'm surprised CNN is here to cover me," Trump told reporters covering his visit to the United Nations General Assembly this week. "You shouldn't be here."

Trump has frequently attacked the media that covered his campaigns and administrations with harsh criticism, repeatedly calling the press "the enemy of the people."

But this ban comes at a time when the US President's popularity has reached an all-time low, and his Republican Party faces the risk of losing control of Congress in the midterm elections in November, while the war in the Middle East continues with no end in sight.