{"id":46887,"date":"2025-04-08T23:19:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T23:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=46887"},"modified":"2025-04-08T23:19:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T23:19:14","slug":"us-court-orders-white-house-to-restore-access-for-ap-journalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=46887","title":{"rendered":"US court orders White House to restore access for AP journalists"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 18 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
\n

A US judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore the Associated Press\u2019s access to presidential events after the White House blocked the agency in a dispute over the term \u201cGulf of America\u201d.<\/p>\n

District Judge Trevor McFadden on Tuesday said the administration\u2019s restrictions on AP journalists is \u201ccontrary to the First Amendment\u201d of the US Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

The news agency refused to change its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the \u201cGulf of America\u201d in its coverage, after President Donald Trump renamed it with an executive order.<\/p>\n

The ban has meant that the AP has been unable to access press events at the White House as well as Air Force One.<\/p>\n

Judge McFadden, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, said his ruling will not go into effect until Sunday to give government lawyers time to appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists \u2014 be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere \u2014 it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,\u201d Judge McFadden wrote in his ruling. \u201cThe Constitution requires no less.\u201d<\/p>\n

The wire service had asked the court to rule that Trump had violated AP\u2019s constitutional right to free speech by taking the action because he disagreed with the words that its journalists use.<\/p>\n

In February, Judge McFadden declined to immediately restore its access to presidential events.<\/p>\n

After Tuesday\u2019s ruling, AP spokesperson Lauren Easton said the agency was \u201cgratified by the court\u2019s decision\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation. This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the U.S. Constitution,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The news organisation sued three senior aides to the Trump administration in February, saying the restrictions were unlawful and infringed upon press freedom.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit specifically named Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for the Trump administration have argued that the Associated Press does not have a right to \u201cspecial access\u201d to the president.<\/p>\n

Soon after taking office in January, the Trump administration signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the \u201cGulf of America\u201d, a move the White House said reflects the gulf\u2019s status as \u201can indelible part of America\u201d.<\/p>\n

The AP said it would continue to use the term Gulf of Mexico, while acknowledging the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to rename it.<\/p>\n

In response, the administration began clamping down on the AP\u2019s access to White House events covered by the \u201cpool\u201d of journalists that cover smaller events and report back to other media outlets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A US judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore the Associated Press\u2019s access to presidential events after the White House blocked the agency in a dispute over the term… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46887\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}