CNN, MS NOW and Politico Sued Trump, Susie Wiles, Steven Cheung and the Secret Service Director Monday to Get Their White House Press Passes Back, Calling the Ban 'a Direct Assault on the First Amendment.' Hours Later Trump Said the Fake News Is 'a Threat to Our National Security, and Must Be Stopped, NOW!'

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a joint lawsuit in federal court in Washington on Monday morning asking a judge to reverse President Donald Trump's ban on the three outlets from the White House, three days after he announced it on Truth Social and two days after their correspondents were stopped at the security gate and had their credentials confiscated.

"This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles," the complaint says, according to a copy reviewed by CNBC. The suit names Trump, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, assistant to the president for communications Steven Cheung and Secret Service Director Sean Curran as defendants. The plaintiffs are the three news organizations and three White House reporters, Akayla Gardner of MS NOW, Betsy Klein of CNN and Cheyenne Haslett of Politico, each of whom was denied entry Saturday morning and had her hard pass taken by a Secret Service officer.

The outlets are seeking a temporary restraining order that would bar the administration from enforcing the ban and require it to restore the hard passes immediately. The complaint argues the ban violates the Due Process Clause because it came with "no notice, no process, and no warning" and no stated standards, and that it violates the First Amendment twice over: as retaliation for protected newsgathering and as viewpoint discrimination that excludes the outlets "from a nonpublic forum for unlawful reasons." "Presidents from the earliest days of the Republic have disagreed with and complained about the tenor and content of press coverage of their administrations," the suit notes, but "no official can deprive Plaintiffs of those interests on a whim."

As evidence of irreparable harm, the complaint cites the White House's decision Sunday night to remove CNN from its scheduled rotation as the pool network for Trump's trip to New York on Monday for the United Nations General Assembly. In a joint statement, the three outlets said, "This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes. Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting."

Trump announced the ban Friday, accusing the outlets of reporting "FICTION and LIES," citing "cumulative stories" and warning that "Other Fake News Media Outlets" would follow. He also claimed Politico had received "a illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription" from the government, a claim Politico said was "false and have been thoroughly debunked." Asked Friday whether the ban would survive a court challenge, Trump said, "I think it's good to point it out, whether it survives or doesn't."

On Monday morning, after the lawsuit was announced, Trump posted that "The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America." He added, "It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!" He had not previously invoked national security and offered no examples. The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asked about the ban on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Monday, said, "I don't know much about it," then suggested it was justified because "legacy media" is unpopular "because of the perceived bias." Asked about a possible "off-ramp," Bessent said, "We'll see. Maybe it's a change in coverage at the White House," and said the country could "get back to something that is a little more, I can't even remember which network it is, fair and balanced," a reference to Fox News' old slogan.

The case lands in the same courthouse where The Associated Press is still litigating its February 2025 exclusion from the Oval Office and Air Force One over its refusal to adopt "Gulf of America." In 2018, a federal judge ordered the first Trump White House to restore CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's pass on due process grounds, and courts have generally sided with journalists since a 1977 appeals court ruling that credentials cannot be denied without notice and a chance to respond. Jameel Jaffer of Columbia's Knight First Amendment Institute told NBC News the ban was "pretty clearly unconstitutional." A hearing could come as soon as this week.