Trump-Appointed Judge Says Administration Can’t Block AP From White House Events

A federal judge has placed a block on the Trump administration’s retaliation against The Associated Press (AP) over the organization continuing to refer to the body of water south of the U.S. as the Gulf of Mexico.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump renamed that geographical landmark as the “Gulf of America” in an executive order entitled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.” Most Americans disagreed with the move — a subsequent poll found that 55 percent were against the name change, while only 24 percent favored it.

The Associated Press, which caters to an international audience, kept its style guide in place, continuing to refer to the area as the Gulf of Mexico in its reporting. In response, the White House barred the organization from being able to report on events where Trump would appear, resulting in a lawsuit from the wire service.

In his ruling on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden — a Trump appointee — viewed The Associated Press as likely to prevail in the lawsuit and issued a preliminary injunction against the White House on continuing to bar the organization based on its editorial choices.

“Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” McFadden wrote in his order. “The Constitution requires no less.”

The judge was careful to stipulate that his ruling didn’t “limit the various permissible reasons the Government may have for excluding journalists.” But, he added, “there is a limit: Access restrictions must be reasonable and not viewpoint based.”

“While the AP does not have a constitutional right to enter the Oval Office, it does have a right to not be excluded because of its viewpoint,” McFadden went on.

McFadden described the administration’s actions as “brazen,” noting that the White House itself admitted that the restrictions to “the AP’s access [were] precisely because of the organization’s viewpoint.”

“The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a nonpublic forum like the Oval Office,” McFadden ruled, adding that The Associated Press “cannot be treated worse than its peer wire services” on that basis.

Pending a final ruling on the lawsuit, the ruling blocks, for now, the administration from barring The AP from reporting in person on the president’s daily actions and statements based on its coverage of the Gulf of Mexico. McFadden did not enforce his order right away — instead, he said it would go into effect within five days to allow the administration to respond to it, either by voluntarily allowing the news organization back into the West Wing of the White House or by appealing his decision. The administration has not yet indicated how it will act.

The Associated Press celebrated the order.

“Today’s 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,” said AP spokesperson Lauren Easton.

Free press organizations also heralded McFadden’s ruling.

“The First Amendment protects news outlets from government interference in editorial decisions, as the court has reaffirmed,” Clayton Weimers, executive director for Reporters Without Borders USA, said in a statement reacting to the order. “The Trump administration’s attempts to undermine the Constitution failed this time, but they continue to pose a threat to press freedom and prevent the media from doing their job: covering the government fully and fairly.”