Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

18 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

19 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

23 hours ago

Elon Musk Says Senate Bill Would Destroy Jobs and Harm US

23 hours ago

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

1 day ago

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

1 day ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

3 days ago
Judge: White House Must Return CNN’s Jim Acosta’s Credential
By admin
Published 7 years ago on
November 16, 2018

Share

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to immediately return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta, saying Acosta suffered “irreparable harm” from the decision to bar him.
The judge granted CNN’s request for a temporary restraining order. A lawsuit that CNN brought against the Trump administration over the issue is continuing.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, an appointee of President Donald Trump, announced his decision following a hearing. The judge said Acosta’s credentials would be returned immediately and reactivated to allow him access to the White House.

CNN had asked the judge to force the White House to return the credentials that give Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, access to the White House complex for press briefings and other events.

The judge granted CNN’s request for a temporary restraining order. A lawsuit that CNN brought against the Trump administration over the issue is continuing.

The White House revoked Acosta’s credentials after he and Trump tangled during a press conference last week.

Government Could Not Say Who Decided to Revoke Acosta’s Pass

The judge said the government could not say who initially decided to revoke Acosta’s hard pass. The White House had spelled out its reasons for revoking his credentials in a tweet from White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and in a statement after CNN filed its lawsuit. But the judge said those “belated efforts were hardly sufficient to satisfy due process.”

“Let’s go back to work!”CNN reporter Jim Acosta after the ruling 

The judge also found that Acosta suffered “irreparable harm,” dismissing the government’s argument that CNN could simply send other reporters to cover the White House in Acosta’s place.

The suit by CNN alleges that Acosta’s First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated by suspending his hard pass. While the judge didn’t rule on the underlying case, he signaled they were likely to prevail in their claims.

The judge told attorneys to file additional court papers in the case by Monday.

“Let’s go back to work!” Acosta said outside the courthouse after the ruling.

Trump has made his dislike of CNN clear since before he took office and continuing into his presidency. He has described the network as “fake news” both on Twitter and in public comments.

The White House Pulled Acosta’s Credentials

At last week’s press conference, which followed the midterm elections, Trump was taking questions from reporters and called on Acosta, who asked about Trump’s statements about a caravan of migrants making its way to the U.S.-Mexico border. After a terse exchange, Trump told Acosta, “That’s enough,” several times while calling on another reporter.

Acosta attempted to ask another question about special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and initially declined to give up a hand-held microphone to a White House intern. Trump responded to Acosta by saying he wasn’t concerned about the investigation, calling it a “hoax,” and then criticized Acosta, calling him a “rude, terrible person.”

The White House pulled Acosta’s credentials hours later.

The White House explanations for why it seized Acosta’s credentials have shifted over the last week.

Sanders initially explained the decision by accusing Acosta of making improper physical contact with the intern seeking to grab the microphone.

But that rationale disappeared after witnesses backed Acosta’s account that he was just trying to keep the microphone, and Sanders distributed a doctored video that made it appear Acosta was more aggressive than he actually was. On Tuesday, Sanders accused Acosta of being unprofessional by trying to dominate the questioning at the news conference.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

US Senate Republicans Struggling to Unite on Trump’s $3.3 Trillion Tax-Cut Bill

35 minutes ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

39 minutes ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

15 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

16 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

16 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

17 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

17 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

17 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

17 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

17 hours ago

Powell Reiterates Fed Will Wait for More Data Before Cutting Rates

SINTRA, Portugal – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday reiterated the U.S. central bank plans to “wait and learn more...

58 seconds ago

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress," on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 24, 2025. (Reuters File)
58 seconds ago

Powell Reiterates Fed Will Wait for More Data Before Cutting Rates

A man was shot Tuesday, July 1, 2025, morning outside the Bethlehem Center in Visalia, and police are investigating the incident. (Visalia PD)
15 minutes ago

Visalia Police Investigate Morning Shooting Outside Bethlehem Center

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house that took place on Monday, in Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip, July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Ramadan Abed)
33 minutes ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

Documents tracking Senate votes are seen at the U.S. Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
35 minutes ago

US Senate Republicans Struggling to Unite on Trump’s $3.3 Trillion Tax-Cut Bill

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
39 minutes ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
15 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

fresno
16 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend