CNN Sues Trump Administration Over Jim Acosta’s Press Ban

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (R) gets into a heated exchange with CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta (C) as NBC correspondent Peter Alexander (L) looks on during a post-election press conference in... TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (R) gets into a heated exchange with CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta (C) as NBC correspondent Peter Alexander (L) looks on during a post-election press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on November 7, 2018. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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CNN filed suit against the Trump administration on Tuesday over the White House’s revocation of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials.

“We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process,” CNN said in a statement. “While the suit is specific to CNN and Acosta, this could have happened to anyone. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials.”

At a post-midterms press conference last week at the White House, Trump berated Acosta for asking questions. “You are a very rude person,” Trump told Acosta. Later, the White House released what appeared to be a doctored video claiming to show Acosta getting physical with a White House press intern who attempted to take the microphone away from Acosta during his questioning.

The White House Correspondents’ Association said it supports CNN’s legal effort against the Trump administration.

“The President of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him,” the group’s president, Olivier Knox, said in a statement.

Read the full complaint below:

 

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