Major television networks are declining to record President Donald Trump’s press conferences after the White House barred journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
The White House television pool—made up of ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News—has decided not to film Trump’s press conferences or other pool events involving the president for an indefinite period, according to an email from Bryan Boughton, Fox News’ Washington bureau chief and the pool chair, obtained by Politico.
“The TV pool will not cover events designated as pool coverage of the president,” Boughton wrote in an email Monday.
“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from carrying out its assigned pool responsibilities,” Boughton said.
CNN was scheduled to cover the president on Monday and distribute the television feed to ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News. The networks in the so-called pool rotate coverage duties, including supplying video feeds to one another and to other news organizations. Footage collected by the White House pool is used by websites and newspapers worldwide.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” members of the White House pool said in a joint statement Monday. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
The networks will continue their agreed-upon pool duties for events unrelated to the president, including those involving Congress.
Trump announced a ban on CNN, MS Now, and Politico journalists from the White House in a social media post Friday, saying they “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States.”
The decision immediately raised concerns among press advocates. CNN, MS NOW, and Politico said Monday that they are suing Trump and three of his senior advisers, alleging the ban is a “direct assault on the First Amendment.”
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