The Trump administration will fully restore Jim Acosta’s White House credentials but has warned the CNN reporter that he must follow a series of rules at future news conferences, reported The Associated Press on Tuesday, 20 November.
A federal judge on Friday, 16 November ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta, though a lawsuit over the credentials' revocation is continuing.
US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, an appointee of President Donald Trump, announced his decision following a hearing in Washington. The judge said Acosta's credentials would be returned immediately and reactivated to allow him access to the White House.
CNN had asked the judge to force the White House to immediately hand back the credentials that give Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, access to the White House complex for press briefings and other events. CNN asked for Acosta’s credentials to be restored while a lawsuit over his credentials’ revocation goes forward.
The White House revoked Acosta's credentials after he and Trump tangled during a press conference last week.
‘We Want Total Freedom of Press, But You Have to Act With Respect’: Trump
Acosta was back on Friday afternoon. More than 50 members of the White House press corps greeted Acosta as he strode through the northwest gate of the presidential compound. He said he was grateful for the judge's ruling, that it was a test and the media passed the test.
"This is just any other day at the White House for me and I would like to get back to work," he said.
The White House said it would be developing new rules for orderly press conferences.
"In response to the court, we will temporarily reinstate the reporter's hard pass," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. "We will also further develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future.
Speaking to reporters after the decision, Trump said, "If they don't listen to the rules and regulations, we will end up back in court and we will win."
“We want total freedom of the press. It’s very important to me, more important to me than anybody would believe. But you have to act with respect when you’re in the White House, and when I see the way some of my people get treated at press conferences, it’s terrible. So we’re setting up a certain standard, which is what the court is requesting.”Donald Trump
‘Belated Efforts Were Hardly Sufficient to Satisfy Due Process’: Judge
The judge said the government could not say who initially decided to revoke Acosta's hard pass. The White House had spelled out its reasons for revoking his credentials in a tweet from White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and in a statement after CNN filed its lawsuit. But the judge said those "belated efforts were hardly sufficient to satisfy due process."
The judge also found that Acosta suffered “irreparable harm,” dismissing the government’s argument that CNN could just send other reporters to cover the White House in Acosta’s place.
The judge told attorneys to file additional court papers in the case by Monday, 19 November.
Trump has made his dislike of CNN clear since before he took office and continuing into his presidency. He has described the network as "fake news" both on Twitter and in public comments.
At last week's press conference, which followed the midterm elections, Trump was taking questions from reporters and called on Acosta, who asked about Trump's statements about a caravan of migrants making its way to the US-Mexico border. After a terse exchange, Trump told Acosta, "That's enough," several times while calling on another reporter.
Acosta attempted to ask another question about special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and initially declined to give up a hand-held microphone to a White House intern. Trump responded to Acosta by saying he wasn't concerned about the investigation, calling it a "hoax," and then criticised Acosta, calling him a "rude, terrible person."
The White House pulled Acosta's credentials hours later.
The White House’s explanations for why it seized Acosta’s credentials have shifted over the last week.
Sanders initially explained the decision by accusing Acosta of making improper physical contact with the intern seeking to grab the microphone.
But that rationale disappeared after witnesses backed Acosta's account that he was just trying to keep the microphone, and Sanders distributed a doctored video that made it appear Acosta was more aggressive than he actually was. On Tuesday, 13 November, Sanders accused Acosta of being unprofessional by trying to dominate the questioning at the news conference.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)