🔻Three U.S. media outlets sue Trump after being barred from entering the White House

🔻Three U.S. media outlets sue Trump after being barred from entering the White House

🔻CNN, Politico and MSNBC, three American media outlets, said they will file a complaint against the Trump administration after their reporters were banned from entering the White House.

Mr. Trump said on Friday that entry for the reporters of these three outlets to the White House would be banned. He accused these three news organizations of publishing “fabricated and false” reports about his administration.

The three media outlets say that on Saturday their reporters were unable to enter the White House building and, after their access was cut off, their press badges were confiscated.

In a joint statement on Monday, the three media outlets said they would pursue the matter through legal action to “protect their rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution and defend the principle that it is not this U.S. administration that determines what the press reports or publishes.”

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents the government of that country from “restricting” the freedom of the media.

In the joint statement, CNN, Politico and MSNBC said: “Without any notice or legal process, the White House revoked our reporters’ access cards because it disagreed with our reporting.”

The statement added: “If this action is not challenged, it will threaten press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism, free from government interference.”

BBC News contacted the White House to request its view on the matter.

When Trump announced the ban last week, he did not refer to any specific report or news item that led to that decision, but later he said: “It’s really a collection of items that have been published over the past few years.”

The U.S. president also added that “other media outlets may join them.”

When a reporter later asked Trump what he meant by that, he replied: “You mean other fake media outlets that are supposed to be added? Well, you know, The New York Times is fake media, The Washington Post is also fake media.”

Mr. Trump has taken legal action against a number of U.S. and international news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and BBC.

Some of the lawsuits have led to agreements among the media outlets to pay amounts of several million dollars. The lawsuit by Mr. Trump against the BBC is still ongoing