WASHINGTON — A federal judge Tuesday called The Associated Press’s exclusion from White House events “contrary to the First Amendment” and ordered the Trump administration to treat the newswire as it would any other media publication.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ordered the administration to “put the AP on an equal playing field as similarly situated outlets, despite the AP’s use of disfavored terminology.”
The Associated Press filed a lawsuit in February after it was excluded from White House events and Trump’s travels over its refusal to change references of the “Gulf of Mexico” to Trump’s preferred “Gulf of America” in its coverage.
McFadden shot down the administration’s argument that the AP’s request for media access to such events is a “demand for extra special access.”
“That is not what the AP is asking for, and it is not what the Court orders. All the AP wants, and all it gets, is a level playing field,” McFadden wrote.
“Defendants may pursue their favored litigation tactics, but the Court must address the merits of the relief requested,” he added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
The judge went on to say that his ruling means that “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.”
Zoë Richards contributed.
