In a preliminary ruling, a federal judge on Friday ordered the White House to immediately return reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials after they were revoked last week.
“I will order defendants immediately restore Mr. Acosta’s hard pass,” Judge Timothy Kelly said, according to CNN. In response, the White House said that it would follow Kelly’s order and return the hard pass, but noted new rules to “ensure fair and orderly” press conferences would soon be introduced.
“There must be decorum in the White House,” a statement from the press secretary read.
On Tuesday, the cable news network filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and several White House officials, arguing that the decision to revoke Acosta’s press privileges after a tense exchange between him and the president during a post-midterms press conference violated First and Fifth Amendment rights.
The White House has been accused of using a doctored video to claim that Acosta had inappropriately “placed his hands” on a female intern to justify the suspension.
"I will order defendants immediately restore Mr. Acosta's hard pass." Judge rules in favor of CNN in this initial proceeding and White House MUST restore @Acosta press pass IMMEDIATELY.
— Jessica Schneider (@SchneiderCNN) November 16, 2018
Judge emphasizes limited nature of ruling & stresses that he did not decide whether or not the First Amendment was violated here, but said that his ruling relied on the 5th Amendment's right to Due Process, & he found that CNN was likely to succeed in those claims.
— Jessica Schneider (@SchneiderCNN) November 16, 2018
This is a breaking news post. We will update as more information becomes available.
