Sometimes people should just leave things alone…
One would assume that the Justice Dept. lawyers carrying the water for Trump’s hard line against Jim Acosta, and the idea that news reporters should be allowed to ask an American President ‘harder’ questions KNOW that they are treading on thin ice….
While the Federal judge that resorted Acosta’s accessibility to the nation’s White House did NOT address the basic issue of media/press ‘right’ to ask questions in a public forum in a PUBLIC building?
I, for one, cannot see the Trump point of view prevailing…..
I’m NOT a lawyer….
I KNOW there is no law that says a President MUST allow reporter’s to even set foot in the White House Press room….(Trump orginally tried to move the whole operation out of the White House, but that didn’t work)….
But a situation where an woman aide tried to take a mic out of the hand of a male reporter is NO excuse to institute a way for an American President to ban media access to reporters that might ask questions one might not want to hear….THAT IS what this is ALL.. about folks…Donald Trump HAS admitted he is out to control the media….’He can’t handle the truth’….so he’ll just try to make in disappear, at least when he’s around….
Despite a setback in court last week, the White House is pushing forward with efforts to strip a CNN reporter of his press credential in what could shape up to be a landmark First Amendment case over how and why the government can ban reporters from government buildings.
Lawyers for Jim Acosta, the network’s chief White House correspondent, said in a court filing on Monday they had received a letter last week indicating that the Trump administration was still seeking to take away his credential after a testy exchange with the president in a news conference earlier this month.
“Your behavior at the November 7 press conference violated the basic standards governing such events and is, in our preliminary judgement, sufficient factual basis to revoke your hard pass,” White House communications director Bill Shine and press secretary Sarah Sanders wrote in a letter to Mr. Acosta that was included in Monday’s court filing.
Last week, a U.S. district court judge issued an emergency order that the White House restore Mr. Acosta’s press badge, which it had taken from him shortly after the news conference. Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, framed his decision on narrow procedural grounds, however—saying that the White House had not given Mr. Acosta due process over the suspension of his press pass and sidestepping other questions about the rights of the press….
Breaking…..
As expected the Trump White House HAS backed offf the Acosta case in court…
while Trump might have wanted to stifle hard questioning by Acosta and others persuing restrictions on the press was sure to be loser even in courts with Trump picked judges….
This was eveident when Fox News signed up to support Acosta and CNN….