CNN, Politico and MS NOW Sue Trump Over White House Press-Pass Ban, Seek Temporary Restraining Order

On September 21, 2026, three days after President Trump announced he was “banning” CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House complex, the three outlets — together with reporters Betsy Klein (CNN), Akayla Gardner (Politico), and Cheyenne Haslett (Politico) — filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case is Cable News Network, Inc. v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-03287, assigned to Judge Timothy J. Kelly (a 2017 Trump appointee). Named defendants are Trump, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, and Chief of Staff Susan Wiles; Trump himself was later excused from the operative TRO. Lead counsel is Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. of Gibson Dunn, with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’s Bruce D. Brown and KatieLynn Boyd Townsend also appearing for plaintiffs.

What was filed

Docket entry 1 is a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (filing fee receipt ADCDC-12686613), filed the same day alongside docket entry 2, a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order supported by declarations from Gardner, Klein, Haslett, and CNN/Politico/MS NOW executives (David Vigilante, J. Marsh, Sudeep Reddy) plus a declaration from Boutrous himself and a certificate of actual notice to defendants. The complaint alleges the credential revocations — Secret Service confiscation of hard passes at the White House gate on or about September 18-19 — violate (1) the First Amendment, as retaliation for and viewpoint discrimination against the content of the outlets’ reporting, and (2) the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, because no notice, stated standard, or opportunity to respond preceded the revocations.

That same day, Judge Kelly issued a standing order and a minute order directing defendants to respond to the TRO motion by September 22 and setting a TRO hearing for 3:30 p.m. on September 23, 2026, by videoconference.

Sourcing note. Docket entries, filing dates, party and counsel names, and the hearing schedule are drawn directly from the CourtListener/RECAP docket for 1:26-cv-03287. Secondary reporting (Law Dork, wire summaries) corroborates the September 21 filing date and general theory of the suit.

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