Judge Urges White House To Restore AP Access, Refuses To Immediately Order Action

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday refused to immediately order the White House to restore The Associated Press’ access to presidential events, saying the news organization had not demonstrated it had suffered irreparable harm in the matter. But he urged the government to reconsider its two-week-old ban, saying that case law “is uniformly unhelpful to the White House.” U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden’s decision was only for the moment, however. President Donald Trump said it was punishment for the agency’s decision not to entirely follow his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” McFadden, discussing the composition of the “press pool” that is chosen by the White House Correspondents’ Association, questioned why the government was obligated to follow those choices. Later, McFadden warned the government’s attorney to reconsider its position, saying “case law in this circuit is uniformly unhelpful to the White House.” The AP says it is adhering to the “Gulf of Mexico” terminology because its audience is global and the waters are not only in U.S. territory, but it is acknowledging Trump’s rechristening as well. The agency, a nonprofit news outlet in operation since 1846, called the White House’s move a “targeted attack” of the sort barred by the First Amendment.