A federal judge on Friday declined to further enforce his order directing the White House to restore The Associated Press’s access to certain spaces, signaling that while top officials are owed a presumption of good faith, violations of his directive would be met with a heavy hand.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of President Trump, said he’s inclined to agree with the government that its new policy — which eliminates a permanent slot for all wire services but makes them eligible for selection as part of the pool’s daily print journalist rotation — does not, on its face, discriminate against the AP.
“I don’t intend to micromanage the White House,” McFadden said while handing down his decision.
However, he said that if the AP continues to receive “second class treatment,” that would be a “very serious problem.”
“And there would be serious consequences,” he said.
The AP sued three top White House officials earlier this year after its journalists were banned from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces because the outlet refused to use “Gulf of America” in its popular stylebook after Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico.
Last week, McFadden ordered the White House to resume allowing the AP into those spaces when they’re made available to other press pool members. After the White House handed down its new policy, days after McFadden’s preliminary injunction went into effect, the AP asked the judge to enforce his order.
Charles Tobin, a lawyer for the AP, called the White House’s new policy a “spit in the court’s eye.” He said eliminating the wire service slot altogether was done for the “express purpose” of diminishing the outlet’s opportunities to cover the president.
“We did not get into the pool Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday,” he said.
AP’s photographers were allowed back into the photo pool Thursday and Friday, but a print reporter has not been selected for pool rotation since the White House first decided to exclude AP. However, Tobin said an AP print journalist will be part of Saturday’s pool — while Trump golfs.
Department of Justice lawyer Jane Lyons urged the court to “slow down a little bit.” She said the White House’s policy had only been in place for three days, and McFadden’s injunction for five, and that it’s “way too soon” to determine there’s a problem with the new way of doing things.
She also argued that the high-level officials enjoined by McFadden — press secretary Karoline Leavitt, chief of staff Susie Wiles and White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich — should be trusted to adhere to the court’s order.
While McFadden agreed, he said that the results of this week “do give me some concern.”
The hearing followed arguments yesterday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where a panel of three judges weighed whether to halt McFadden’s order while the White House appeals. The panel seemed split over AP’s access but has not yet ruled.
