US court orders White House to return passes to CNN, MSNBC and Politico journalists // Washington court orders Donald Trump to return media accreditation

The US District Court in Washington ordered US President Donald Trump to restore access to the White House for journalists CNN, MSNBC and Politico. The judge granted media demands to return the passes while their lawsuit against the administration is being considered.

District Judge Tim Kelly barred officials from restricting journalists' access to the White House for 14 days. In his decision, he rejected the US administration's arguments that the ban was dictated by national security concerns.

"There is no factual evidence in the case file that the defendants said that the cancellation of the plaintiffs' permanent passes would indeed protect national security," the judge said. In addition, he pointed out that Mr. Trump himself explained the ban by the “lack of truthfulness and negative nature” of the coverage of the events by these media.

At the Sept. 23 hearing, the judge also noted that the White House did not appear to have given banned news organizations a real opportunity to challenge the decision.

On September 18, 2026, Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists from the White House, accusing them of publishing fake news. On September 21, three media outlets challenged the decision in court, saying it violated the First Amendment to the US Constitution on freedom of speech and the press. In addition, the leading American media, including ABC, Fox News, CBS, NBC, The New York Times and The Washington Post, declared a boycott and refused to cover events with the participation of the head of state.