A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of former President Donald Trump in his ongoing legal dispute with the Associated Press (AP), permitting him to limit the news agency’s access to the Oval Office and other areas within the White House.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a previous ruling by a lower court that had determined the administration’s actions infringed upon the AP’s First Amendment rights. The appeals court granted a partial stay on the lower court’s injunction, supporting Trump’s assertion that the White House is not a public forum and that the president possesses broad discretion regarding access permissions.
“We grant in part the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal,” Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao stated in the ruling. “The White House is likely to succeed on the merits because these restricted presidential spaces are not First Amendment fora opened for private speech and discussion.”
The court further asserted that the administration is entitled to make such access determinations “including on the basis of viewpoint,” and cautioned that failing to allow a stay would result in “irreparable harm” to the president’s autonomy over his workspace.
This case originated from a conflict that arose when the Trump Administration prohibited the AP from attending certain press events after the outlet declined to use the term “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico,” following Trump’s signing of an executive order mandating that government documents reflect the new nomenclature.
In April, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sided with the AP and issued an injunction requiring the White House to restore access. “If the Government opens its doors to some journalists…it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” McFadden remarked. The Trump Administration reacted by exerting greater control over the White House press pool, a move that the AP characterized as an effort to circumvent the court’s ruling.
