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Trump during the confrontation with Acosta Ron Sachs/PA Images

Fox News backs CNN's legal action against the White House over journalist ban

Trump often praises Fox News, but it is against him on this one.

MEDIA GROUPS INCLUDING Fox News have joined CNN’s legal battle to restore the White House pass of a banned chief correspondent, as Donald Trump’s administration argued it had a broad right to allow or deny press access to the US president.

Fox, which is controlled by Trump ally Rupert Murdoch and often draws praise from the president, said the revoking of Jim Acosta’s pass – after he locked horns repeatedly with the US leader – raises concerns over press freedom.

“Fox News supports CNN in its legal effort to regain its White House reporter’s press credential,” the news channel’s president Jay Wallace said in a statement issued hours ahead of a federal court hearing on the case.

“We intend to file an amicus brief with the US District Court. Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponised. While we don’t condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the president and the press at recent media avails, we do support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people.”

Others backing the CNN arguments in court included the Associated Press, Bloomberg, First Look Media Works, Gannett, the National Press Club Journalism Institute, NBC News, The New York Times, Politico, Press Freedom Defense Fund, EW Scripps Company, USA Today and The Washington Post.

“Whether the news of the day concerns national security, the economy, or the environment, reporters covering the White House must remain free to ask questions,” the media groups said in a joint statement.

“It is imperative that independent journalists have access to the president and his activities, and that journalists are not barred for arbitrary reasons.”

‘Broad discretion’ claimed

The White House said in a legal filing meanwhile it has “broad discretion” to restrict media access to the president, disputing the argument that its actions violate the constitution’s First Amendment protections for a free press.

“The President and White House possess the same broad discretion to regulate access to the White House for journalists (and other members of the public) that they possess to select which journalists receive interviews, or which journalists they acknowledge at press conferences,” said the brief filed ahead of the 3.30 pm (8.30pm Irish time) hearing in the case.

The filing by US Justice Department lawyers argued that “the president could choose never to hold another press briefing again and cancel all press passes, without implicating due process protections”.

CNN — part of the WarnerMedia division of AT&T — has sued to restore the press pass of Acosta, its chief White House reporter who was barred after a testy exchange with Trump at a White House news conference.

Trump’s administration initially said Acosta was banned for inappropriately touching a White House female intern as he struggled to hold on to a microphone. The White House cited a video which analysts said had been sped up, giving the appearance that Acosta struck the intern’s arm.

Trump later said journalists might be barred if they were not “respectful.”

Free speech activists have warned the case has important implications, and that public officials should not be able to bar access to journalists if they dislike news coverage.

The White House has dismissed CNN’s complaint as “grandstanding” and vowed to “vigorously defend” against the lawsuit.

© AFP 2018 

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    Mute Ann Experiment
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    Nov 14th 2018, 6:20 PM

    That’s actually maybe somewhat encouraging.

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    Mute James Kearney
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    Nov 15th 2018, 12:12 AM

    @Ann Experiment: what is going on with @foxnews twitter?

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    Mute Barry Somers
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    Nov 14th 2018, 6:26 PM

    So Trump supporters is it still fake news when your favourite presidents news station supports CNN?

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    Mute Paddington C.
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    Nov 14th 2018, 6:38 PM

    @Barry Somers: ah you know. They’ll find a way.

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    Mute Paddington C.
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    Nov 14th 2018, 6:45 PM

    @Barry Somers: characteristically slow off the mark though this seem to be… maybe this had overloaded their systems and sent their algorithms into a spiral.

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    Mute Gordon Larney
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    Nov 14th 2018, 8:02 PM

    @Barry Somers: you think they are supporting CNN?? Fox News has been vicious in its attacks on presidents from the democratic party,, it’s not always going to be a republican Whitehouse,, Fox just doesn’t want to see any president being able to pick and choose who gets to ask question, because when the whitehouse has a blue president, fox would be out on their ear…..

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Nov 14th 2018, 9:39 PM

    @Gordon Larney: self interest and nothing more, well spotted

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    Mute tomcolgan
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    Nov 14th 2018, 6:44 PM

    Trump for the win

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    Mute Ailbhe
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    Nov 14th 2018, 7:26 PM

    @tomcolgan: PSA ^^^ ignore the attention seeker^^^

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    Mute Derek Durkin
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    Nov 14th 2018, 6:23 PM

    Fox news might pretend to support Trump in order to please their viewers but generally they have subtly negative tones against him.

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    Mute Jack O’Meara
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    Nov 14th 2018, 6:26 PM

    @Derek Durkin: I think subtly would be missed on your Average Fox viewer.

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    Mute Dave Walsh
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    Nov 15th 2018, 12:01 AM

    @Derek Durkin: They’re thinking long term,if a republican president gets away with this,so can the next democrat one…

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    Mute iComment
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    Nov 14th 2018, 7:17 PM

    Acosta is very hostile to Trump….Would be a bit like every news conference SF and Mary Lou give….Journalists from the Sunday independent turn up and keep asking about army council links with SF…….After a while Mary Lou might get annoyed….

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    Mute Paddington C.
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    Nov 14th 2018, 7:41 PM

    @iComment: it’s Donald Trump, he has 70 years experience of being a thundering ****. You don’t need to protect him from the mean man asking hard questions.

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    Mute Kieran Conba
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    Nov 14th 2018, 7:42 PM

    @iComment: Jim Acosta was just as tough on Obama…just watch some of those clips

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    Mute ihcalaM
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    Nov 14th 2018, 9:40 PM

    @iComment: Journalists are supposed to be hostile.

    Do you want them all asking him lovely easy questions? I suppose you do. That’s a lovely idea, but accountability is kinda important

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    Mute Nicholas O'Halloran
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    Nov 14th 2018, 10:59 PM

    Waterford whisper will back CNN too

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    Mute Liam Neeson
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    Nov 14th 2018, 7:34 PM

    I’m the trumpsta motherfacker..

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    Mute Michael Griffin
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    Nov 14th 2018, 8:12 PM

    Why not just put Trump in Coventry?

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    Mute Dave Thomas
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    Nov 14th 2018, 11:00 PM

    @Michael Griffin: what has Coventry done to deserve that insufferable windbag?

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    Mute Scarybeard
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    Nov 15th 2018, 12:32 AM

    @Dave Thomas: The story – and it is no more than that – is that Cromwell sent a group of Royalist soldiers to be imprisoned in Coventry, around 1648. The locals, who were parliamentary supporters, shunned them and refused to consort with them. It’s a not do common idiom.

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    Mute Thomas Devlin
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    Nov 15th 2018, 12:54 AM

    The Skibbereen Eagle has its eye on you!

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    Mute Brian Waldron
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    Nov 15th 2018, 12:36 AM

    Martin O Neill and Tony O Donoghue show

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