Judge orders White House to lift restrictions on AP access

A US federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore the Associated Press's access to President Donald Trump's official events, saying it had no right to bar media for their "viewpoints."

AP journalists and photographers have been barred from the Oval Office and from traveling on Air Force One since February 11 because of the wire service's decision to continue referring to the "Gulf of Mexico" -- and not the "Gulf of America" as decreed by Trump.

District Judge Trevor McFadden said the "viewpoint-based denial of the AP's access" was a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press.

"If the Government opens its doors to some journalists -- be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere -- it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints," McFadden said.

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He ordered the White House to "immediately rescind the denial of the AP's access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other limited spaces... when such spaces are made open to other members of the White House press pool."

The AP filed suit against the White House after it began denying access to Trump's official events to the news agency's reporters and photographers.

At a hearing last month before McFadden, who is a Trump appointee, AP lawyer Charles Tobin said the news agency was the victim of "abject retaliation" by the White House.

Two weeks after barring the AP, the White House stripped journalists of the nearly century-old power to decide which of the profession's own number will be members of a pool of reporters and photographers covering presidential events.

"The White House changed its policy to a rotation system that happens to exclude the AP," Tobin said.

Brian Hudak, a Justice Department attorney, argued at the hearing that press pool membership is at the discretion of the White House and the president.

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In its style guide, the AP notes that the Gulf of Mexico has "carried that name for more than 400 years" and the agency "will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen."

"As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences," the AP said.

The 180-year-old organization has long been a pillar of US journalism and provides news to print, TV and radio outlets across the United States and around the world.

Source: AFP