A judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately return White House press credentials to CNN's Jim Acosta. The journalist's press pass was revoked after a contentious press conference with President Trump.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Ngan
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A US District Court on Friday ordered the White House to temporarily restore the press credentials of CNN journalist Jim Acosta.
The journalist, who is CNN's chief White House correspondent, was barred from the White House after a contentious press conference with President Donald Trump. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused Acosta of "placing his hands" on an intern as she sought to take the microphone from him after the president indicated he would not answer a question from Acosta.
The White House agreed to temporarily reinstate Acosta's press pass after the order.
Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the administration to restore Acosta's press pass while the case is pending. Kelly said there should be a due process in place for limiting a journalist's access to the White House.
Describing the White House's reasons for revoking Acosta's credentials, Kelly said the "belated efforts were hardly sufficient to satisfy due process."
Sanders had spelled out the reasons in a series of tweets only after CNN filed its lawsuit.
'Let's go back to work'
The judge also found that Acosta suffered "irreparable harm," as he dismissed the Trump administration's argument that CNN could just send other reporters to report on the White House in Acosta's place.
"Let's go back to work," Acosta told reporters after the hearing.
CNN said in a statement it "looked forward to a full resolution in the coming days" and thanked "all who have supported not just CNN, but a free, strong and independent American press."
Trump has made no secret of his dislike for the US broadcaster, often describing the network as "fake news."
But in court, US government lawyers said Acosta was penalized for acting rudely at the conference and not for his criticisms of the president.
The latest spat between the US president and CNN reporter Jim Acosta made headlines worldwide, but Donald Trump attacks journalists on a regular basis. Here are some of Trump's strongest outbursts against the press.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
Trump has a habit of attacking journalists
During a post-midterm election press conference, Trump laid into CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta. After Acosta tried to get the president to answer his question, Trump yelled at him: "CNN should be ashamed of itself having you work for them. You are a rude, terrible person." After the spat, the White House suspended Acosta's press pass. CNN said the decision was an act of retaliation.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
"I know you're not thinking. You never do."
In October, 2018 during a press conference at the White House, Donald Trump directed snarky comments at ABC reporter Cecilia Vega. When Trump came to Vega for a question, he commented: "She's shocked that I picked her. Like in a state of shock." Vega told him she was actually not surprised, to which Trump responded: "That's OK. I know you're not thinking. You never do."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Bevilaqua
Trump's name-calling on Twitter
During a Twitter rant in June, 2017 Donald Trump personally attacked MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski through a series of tweets. He called the journalist "low I.Q. Crazy Mika," and claimed she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when she visited his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago. Trump went on to call her co-anchor Joe Scarborough "Psycho Joe."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Senne
Some journalists have been targeted for years
During a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in March, 2018 Trump laid into NBC anchor Chuck Todd. Speaking about Todd's show Meet The Press, Trump referred to the journalist as "sleepy-eyes Todd." He then said to a cheering crowd: "He's a sleeping son of a b***h. I'll tell you." Trump has been calling Todd "sleepy" for years, and clearly hasn't stopped after he became President.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Frey
Twitter: Trump's favorite ranting-platform
Trump often takes to Twitter to attack one of his preferred targets: journalists. In July, 2017 he tweeted a video of himself hitting a man with a CNN logo for a head. In December, 2017 he used a tweet to call for Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel to be fired over a wrong tweet. And then his recurring favorite: calling media companies "fake news."
