0:00
The White House may have been handed some legal victories by the U.S. Supreme Court in recent days
0:05
but a U.S. district judge went against the White House on Tuesday
0:09
ruling with the Associated Press in the press access row that it has with the White House
0:15
The row is over the Associated Press' style guide, which still referred to the Gulf of Mexico
0:20
as the Gulf of America, as Donald Trump had ordered in one of his executive orders
0:25
Well, the preliminary injunction issued by a Trump appointee judge, Trevor McFadden
0:30
says in a 41-page ruling that the government offers no other plausible explanation of its
0:35
treatment of the AP. The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a non-public
0:41
forum like the Oval Office. The judge then continues in his explanation, the court merely
0:47
declares that the AP's exclusion has been contrary to the First Amendment, that being the Freedom of
0:53
speech amendment and it enjoins the government from continuing down that unlawful path. The AP
1:00
seeks restored eligibility for admission to the White House press pool and limited access press
1:06
events untainted by an impermissible viewpoint-based exclusion. He then continues that this is all the
1:12
court orders today for the government to put the AP on an equal playing field as similarly situated
1:18
outlets, despite the AP's use of disfavored terminology. So this ruling then not going to
1:25
be an immediate restoration of access to the White House and the Oval Office and the more intimate
1:29
spaces like Air Force One. But the judge does put this injunction a week out, giving the White House
1:36
time to appeal this. And if that appeal is unsuccessful, then in a week's time
1:40
the Associated Press's access to the White House will be restored
