Meat The Press, Con't

The fight between CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta and the Trump regime is far from over after Friday's court ruling.  Mike Allen:

After a federal court ruling on Friday restored the White House press pass of CNN's Jim Acosta, the West Wing moved almost immediately to once again contest his access, sources involved in the negotiations tell me.

What's happening: The White House sent CNN a letter Friday giving a chance for Acosta to make the case for continued access. A White House official said a decision will be made after hearing the case.

CNN is fighting back, and is expected back in court as soon as today.

Acosta was blocked after clashes with President Trump, who accused the reporter of hogging the microphone at a post-midterm press conference. A CNN spokesperson told me: "The White House is continuing to violate the First and Fifth amendments of the Constitution. These actions threaten all journalists and news organizations. Jim Acosta and CNN will continue to report the news about the White House and the President."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, speaking on Fox News, accused the correspondent of "grandstanding": "[I]f certain reporters like Jim Acosta can't be adults, then CNN needs to send somebody in there who can be."

Why it matters: This is a high-risk confrontation for both sides. It turns out that press access to the White House is grounded very much in tradition rather than in plain-letter law.

So a court fight could result in a precedent that curtails freedom to cover the most powerful official in the world from the literal front row.

These are admittedly big stakes.  If Trump is allowed to banish media from his presence because he doesn't like their coverage of him, and that becomes a legal precedent, then our free press is gone.   Likewise, this turns into a giant legal mess if CNN can claim not having a WH correspondent is a violation of First and Fifth Amendments and other news outlets can sue over the same.

We've already reached the point where 2019's White House Correspondents' Association press dinner headliner will no longer be a comedian, but speaker, author, and historian Ron Chernow, and that's 100% to please Trump.  Our press is already reeling.

Meanwhile CNN is scrambling for another hearing as today the Trump regime once again threatened to refuse to comply with the Friday's court order and says it reserves to right to revoke Acosta press pass next week.

The White House has issued a new letter to CNN's Jim Acosta, saying his press pass could be revoked again at the end of the month. 

In response, CNN is asking the U.S. District Court for another emergency hearing. 

"The White House is continuing to violate the First and 5th Amendments of the Constitution," the network said in a statement. "These actions threaten all journalists and news organizations. Jim Acosta and CNN will continue to report the news about the White House and the President." 

Government lawyers downplayed CNN's request for urgent court action. 

Last Friday CNN won a temporary restraining order, forcing the White House to restore Acosta's press access to the White House for 14 days. Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled on Fifth Amendment grounds, saying Acosta's right to due process had been violated. He did not rule on CNN's argument that the revocation of Acosta's press pass was a violation of his and the network's First Amendment rights. 

Later that same day, the White House sent Acosta a formal letter outlining a "preliminary decision" to suspend his pass. The letter -- signed by two of the defendants in the suit, press secretary Sarah Sanders and deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine --cited Acosta's conduct at President Trump's November 7 press conference, where he asked multiple follow-up questions and didn't give up the microphone right away. 

"You failed to abide" by "basic, widely understood practices," the letter to Acosta claimed.

More on this fight as it comes in.