A growing battle between President Donald Trump and some of the nation’s largest news organizations has escalated, with major television networks suspending White House pool coverage after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO from White House grounds.

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President Trump announced that the three outlets would lose access after accusing them of spreading “fake news” and publishing false information about his administration. Reporters for CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO were subsequently denied entry to the White House and had their credentials disabled or confiscated.

The dispute quickly spread beyond the three organizations.

CNN was scheduled to provide television pool coverage of the President on September 21, but could no longer fulfill that assignment because of the ban. Rather than replace CNN, the other major networks participating in the television pool—ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC—suspended their presidential pool coverage.

The television pool allows participating networks to rotate responsibility for filming presidential events and distributing that footage to other news organizations. Its suspension, therefore, limits the independent television footage ordinarily available from events where individual news organizations cannot all be accommodated.

“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the five television networks said in a joint statement. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”

The three banned outlets have now taken their fight to federal court. CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO filed a joint lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision, arguing that revoking their access because of their reporting violates First Amendment protections.

The Trump administration disputes that characterization. The White House has maintained that access to the White House is a privilege rather than an automatic right afforded to individual media organizations. Trump has also insisted that his action is not an attack on a free press, but a response to outlets he accuses of deliberately publishing false information.

The President described the coverage as “corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control,” and called what he considers intentionally false reporting a threat to national security.

The confrontation follows earlier battles between the administration and major news organizations. The White House previously restricted the Associated Press’ access after the outlet continued using “Gulf of Mexico” rather than the Trump administration’s official designation, “Gulf of America.” That dispute also resulted in litigation over the government’s ability to restrict press access.

The latest controversy now raises another significant question for the courts: how far can an administration go in controlling access to the White House, particularly when its stated reason involves dissatisfaction with an outlet’s reporting? CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO contend that the government is retaliating against protected journalism, while the administration maintains that freedom of the press does not guarantee particular organizations special access to the President and White House grounds.

As intercessors, we know that organizations like CNN and MS NOW specialize in fake, anti-conservative news. The question, however, is whether the President has the authority to remove these organizations from the White House. As this question inevitably heads to the courts, let’s pray for justice, clarity, and an end to fake news!

Share your prayers for truth and integrity in America’s government and media below.

(Info taken from The National Pulse. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)