A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday, April 8 to restore the full access of Associated Press to cover the presidential events, ruling a case that touched in the heart of the first amendment and stating that the government cannot punish.
The American district judge Trevor N. McFadden, a designated or Donald Trump, ruled that the government cannot retaliate against the AP’s decision not to follow the president’s executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. The decision gave the AP a great victory at a time when the White House has challenged the press on several levels.
“According to the first amendment, if the Government opens doors to some journalists, either in the Oval office, the East or other way, can not close those doos to other journalists,” McFadden. “The Constitution does not require less.”
The AP has been blocked since February 11 of being among the small group of journalists to cover Trump in the Oval Office or Abboard Air Force One, with a sporadic capacity to cover it in events in the east room.
The organization had asked McFadden to rule that Trump had violated the constitutional right of AP’s freedom of expression by taking action because he disagreed with the words used by journalists. He had previously rejected the AP request to reverse the changes through a court order.
It was not clear how fast the White House would move to put McFadden’s decision in force. The government has a week to answer.
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