Trump bars three news outlets

On Friday, President Trump announced a ban against CNN, MS NOW and Politico, calling their reporting fake news. The next morning, journalists from all three outlets were denied entry to the White House and had their press credentials confiscated.

Journalists turned away Saturday

MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner, CNN reporter Betsy Klein and Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett all arrived at the White House on Saturday morning and were denied entry. Their badges were either disabled or confiscated by security.

“The officer asked me to hand over my badge. He said that it was disabled.”

News organizations fight back

All three outlets condemned the ban as unconstitutional. MS NOW said it would take all necessary steps to defend its First Amendment rights, while CNN called the move an illegal assault on its constitutional rights.

“MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights”

Legal experts say ban is unconstitutional

Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told NBC News the move was pretty clearly unconstitutional and predicted a legal challenge would succeed.

White House Correspondents' Association responds

The WHCA called the ban a constitutional violation and demanded access be restored. President Jacqui Heinrich said the Constitution protects press freedom regardless of whether the president likes a news organization's coverage.

“The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference”

Trump's stated reason for the ban

Trump said the three outlets have been peddling lies and fake news about him and his administration. He warned that other outlets would face similar action but did not identify which ones.

Trump claims Politico received subsidies

Trump claimed Politico received an illegal eight million dollar subscription directly from the U.S. government. Politico's press team said the claim is false and has been thoroughly debunked.

White House staff caught off guard

Multiple high-level current and former White House staff members told NBC News they were not aware ahead of time that Trump planned to ban the three news organizations from White House grounds.

Outlets continue reporting from outside

CNN and MS NOW continued coverage after their journalists were barred, doing live reports from the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street in Washington, across the street from the White House press entrance.

Obama warns about democracy

Former President Barack Obama said at a Colgate University speaking engagement that he could not imagine banning Fox News. He warned that if people accept such restrictions, we have not developed the understanding democracy requires.

“I'm trying to think what would have happened if I had said, 'You know what? Fox News, you're out of here.' It's unimaginable.”

Press freedom advocates weigh in

Gabe Rottman, vice president of policy for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the ban is clearly a First Amendment violation. He called it an effort to intimidate the press by forcing news organizations to go to court.

“In a word, no”

New York Times backs the outlets

New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said courts have twice found that the Trump administration violated the Constitution by suspending reporters' White House press passes. The Times stands in support of the targeted news organizations.

Part of a broader pattern

Jaffer said the ban represents a broader pattern with the Trump administration, including past attempts to expel the Associated Press from the White House press pool and the Defense Department limiting journalist access to the Pentagon.

Trump's history of media conflicts

Shortly after taking office, Trump banned the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One after it declined to acknowledge his effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The AP filed suit and the case is ongoing.

Trump has sued multiple outlets

Trump has sued outlets including the BBC, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, claiming defamation. Suits against the Times and Journal were dismissed but have since been refiled. The BBC has filed for dismissal.

Broader implications for press freedom

The White House Correspondents' Association warned that a standard used to exclude one news outlet could be applied to any outlet in the future. The public must be able to scrutinize elected officials through a free and independent press.

“The implications extend beyond these organizations”