Donald Trump says White House access ban is due to "constant 'reporting' [of] FAKE NEWS!"

President Donald Trump removed CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House access, saying he was reacting to their coverage. The three outlets sued, and the Justice Department responded this week with a 19-page filing from Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate asserting that the president has a national security rationale for keeping them out. That filing points to Sept. 22 letters from the White House press office identifying specific stories it deems problematic; those written reasons came only after the exclusion, and Trump had earlier described the coverage as unfairly critical, mentioning national security days later. The news organizations argue the move denies them procedural fairness and violates press freedoms. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly is weighing their request to pause the ban.