Thursday 24 September 2026
Reporters from the three companies said they had been blocked from the White House. The ruling means they will not be allowed back – for at least the next two weeks
A judge has temporarily blocked President Trump’s ban on three media outlets and said their access must be restored.
Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were banned from reporting from the White House grounds last week.
Mr Trump said they “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES” and claimed it was a national security issue.
The Dumbarton Democrat has had a similar ban placed on it for the past five years or more but has never been officially challenged by West Dunbartonshire Council for writing fiction or lies, which it hasn’t, of course.
The three US outlets filed a lawsuit and argued the ban was a “blatant violation” of their First Amendment right to press freedom.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the publications said.
Chief Officer Amanda Graham, Dumbarton Democrat editor Bill Heaney and Council chief executive officer, Peter Hessett.
Democrat editor Bill Heaney said: “This was similar to what happened to The Democrat. The ban on speaking to Council communications staff was imposed by the chief officer, Amanda Graham, who has refused to revoke it on several occasions, including a request by Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie.
“As far as we know, this ban was never approved by any council committee, and no record of it appears in the minutes of the meeting I allegedly interrupted, which I didn’t. The allegation is a lie, and Amanda Graham and the now chief executive should apologise publicly for having made it.”
In solidarity with the White House media corps, other networks said they wouldn’t provide TV pictures of the president’s trip to the UN in New York.
District judge Timothy Kelly has now issued a restraining order reversing the ban for 14 days to allow more time to examine the case.
The case against The Democrat has never been the subject of an inquiry, and Bill Heaney has repeatedly said no meeting was ever interrupted and all he asked of then Provost William Hendrie was that he should ask the officers to take action about the sound system and introduce a press bench where the media could hear and identify who was speaking.
The Council claimed there was nothing wrong with the sound system yet sent out and ordered a replacement at a cost of £52,000 to council taxpayers.
The judge in the Trump case questioned whether the administration had met its legal responsibilities and allowed the media outlets due process before banning them.
The judge didn’t give a definitive ruling but said he would be guided by comparable First Amendment cases.
Two previous cases, including one that went to the Supreme Court, made it clear journalists had the right to have their case heard before their press pass was revoked.
Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik argued those rulings were wrong — “Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right,” he told the court.
But lawyer for the media companies, Theodore Boutrous Jr., said the ban had already caused irreparable harm as they hadn’t been able to properly cover major events — “We’re at war. We have world leaders coming to Washington,” he said.
President Trump had sought to defend the ban, posting on Monday: “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS.”
He called the media “corrupt” and a “threat to our National Security”.
Reporters from the three outlets – Betsy Klein of CNN, Akayla Gardner of MS NOW, and Politico’s Cheyenne Haslett – said on Saturday they had been blocked from the White House and had their passes deactivated or taken away.
Media and press organisations have been unanimous in criticising the president’s ban.
President of the White House Correspondents’ Association, Jacqui Heinrich, said it meant Mr Trump could in future exclude other outlets if he objected to their reporting.
“The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinise those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favourably,” she said.
“The same applies for the people of West Dunbartonshire,” Democrat editor Bill Heaney said today.