Journalists from CNN and MS NOW were denied access on Thursday evening to cover Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival at the White House for a state dinner, escalating an ongoing dispute over media access at the presidential residence.
According to reports, the White House prevented two CNN journalists from covering the arrival event after attempting to determine which types of reporters the network could assign to the occasion. Journalists from MS NOW were also denied entry to the event.
The development came just hours after CNN, MS NOW and Politico regained access to the White House following a federal court order that temporarily restored their press credentials.
Earlier in the day, the three news organizations were allowed back into the White House after a federal judge directed the Trump administration to reinstate their media access while legal proceedings continue.
The court intervention followed complaints from the affected news outlets that their journalists had continued to face restrictions despite an earlier judicial ruling in their favor. CNN, MS NOW and Politico informed federal Judge Timothy Kelly that their reporters were still being denied entry on Thursday morning.
Judge Kelly had issued an order overnight requiring the Trump administration to temporarily restore access after the three organizations were barred from White House premises last week by President Donald Trump.
Despite the reinstatement of press badges, the latest decision to deny CNN and MS NOW reporters access to the arrival of President Xi for the state dinner highlighted continuing tensions between the administration and certain media organizations over press access and coverage rights.
The incident comes at a time when legal proceedings involving media access to White House events remain ongoing, with questions surrounding the implementation of court orders and the treatment of news organizations continuing to draw attention.