“Constitution requires no less”: Judge orders White House to reinstate Associated Press’ access

A federal judge ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to reinstate the Associated Press to the White House press pool.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled on Tuesday that the wire service should be granted access to the Oval Office and Air Force One whenever other news organizations are allowed into those limited spaces. 

McFadden wrote that the Trump administration had done serious harm to the outlet, which relies on its ability to break news to sell its stories and photos to other publications. 

“If the AP’s wire reporters are not in the room when news happens, they can hardly be the first to break the news,” McFadden wrote. “These disadvantages have poisoned the AP’s business model.”

Outside of business concerns, the Trump-appointed judge found that the Associated Press had a strong case against the administration on First Amendment grounds. McFadden said that the White House can not “shut those doors” to an outlet just because it disagrees with President Trump.

“The Constitution requires no less,” he wrote.

The AP was booted from its slot within the press pool after feuding with Trump over his decision to rechristen the Gulf of Mexico. The outlet refused to go along with the new name of “Gulf of America.”

Beyond filling up newspapers with wire stories for nearly 180 years, the AP also distributes a widely used style guide for American newspapers, meaning that their decision held sway across a wide swath of publications. 

“The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen,” they wrote at the time. “As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.” 

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich called the decision “divisive” and “dishonest” while announcing that the publication would not be allowed into the Oval Office or Air Force One.

McFadden’s ruling, which will take effect in five days if the admin does not appeal, ordered the Trump White House to put the AP on “an equal playing field as similarly situated outlets, despite the AP’s use of disfavored terminology.”