CNN’s Betsy Klein reports from the grounds of the White House.Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Thursday were allowed back into the White House after earlier being denied access as President Donald Trump’s media ban descended into chaos.
A federal judge had earlier ordered Trump to restore access for journalists from the three outlets, saying his ban on them was likely unconstitutional.
But reporters and staffers from all three were barred from entering the White House on Thursday morning as they attempted to return to work, prompting the outlets to file a request for an emergency hearing.
As of roughly noon Washington DC time, however, reporters from all three had successfully entered the building after their press badges were reactivated.
The restored access came just minutes before the US Justice Department’s deadline to respond to a request from District Judge Tim Kelly explaining why the administration defied his temporary order lifting Trump’s ban.
“We are back and we are ready to cover the president,” CNN’s Betsy Klein said from the grounds of the White House.
In a declaration to the court, the director of White House Press Operations, Micah Stopperich, said the department was notified on Thursday morning to “restore access to affected reporters by turning on their hard badges.”
It is unclear whether the access change means press pool operations are back to normal for now.
“It remains to be seen whether CNN is indeed going to be included in the network TV pool rotation,” Klein added. “But for now, we are back on campus and ready to get back to work.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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