The White House’s constant attacks on the free press are only getting uglier and it’s becoming clear that we need to keep the president in check.
Donald Trump has been furiously counter-attacking since a judge ruled that White House correspondent Jim Acosta would be getting his press credential back “immediately” after the president revoked it. However, the White House isn’t giving up.
CNN’s Brian Stelter has reported that the White House intends to violate the First Amendment and strip Acosta of his credential again, as soon as the temporary restraining order Acosta was granted runs out at the end of the month. Stelter reported:
After CNN won a temporary restraining order on Friday, forcing the White House to restore his press pass for 14 days, White House officials sent Acosta a letter stating that his pass is set to be suspended again once the restraining order expires.
From the looks of the letter, the W.H. is trying to establish a paper trail that will empower the administration to boot Acosta again at the end of the month.
CNN responded with this statement on Sunday: ‘The White House is continuing to violate the First and 5th 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.'”
The White House is actively going against the law now and threatening First Amendment rights all because Trump wants to be a dictator and doesn’t want anyone to say bad things about him. Trump also wants to prevent being cornered and embarrassed at conferences and events, as the president has regularly gone after reporters who ask him the questions he doesn’t want to answer (like Acosta).
CNN is currently taking measures to protect Acosta after hearing the president’s plans. The network is asking the Court to intervene and stop Trump from pulling Acosta’s credential again. BuzzFeed News’ Zoe Tillman reported:
NEW: CNN has filed a status report asking the court to once again intervene after the White House told Jim Acosta late Friday that it had made the “preliminary decision” to suspend his hard pass, notwithstanding the judge’s TRO that morning https://t.co/ndlT2WPSVh pic.twitter.com/ZvdMG4rEAS
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) November 19, 2018
Featured image via screen capture
