CNN is suing President Donald Trump’s administration, demanding that correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials to cover the White House be returned.
The administration revoked them last week following Trump’s contentious news conference, where Acosta refused to give up a microphone and kept interrupting the president with questions despite being asked to sit down. Acosta appeared to briefly shove a White House intern’s arm when she reached for the microphone.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., District Court. CNN claims the revocation of Acosta’s press pass violates the constitutional rights to freedom on the press and due process.
CNN is asking for an immediate restraining order to return Acosta to the White House.
Both CNN and Acosta are listed on the lawsuit as plaintiffs. There are six defendants, including: Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, Secret Service director Joseph Clancy, and the Secret Service officer who took Acosta’s pass away.
Last Wednesday, Trump paused his post-midterm elections press conference to drop the hammer on CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta for his “rude” behavior — and ordered him to sit down during a heated exchange at the White House.
On Friday, CNN sent a letter to the White House requesting the reinstatement of Acosta’s pass and warned of a possible lawsuit coming.
The network released a statement on Tuesday morning saying, “CNN filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration this morning in DC District Court.”
“It demands the return of the White House credentials of CNN’s Chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process. 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.”
The unusual lawsuit has been denounced by several reporters, including Evan Berryhill from The Daily Caller, who stated, “For a network that is hemorrhaging viewers and struggling to keep pace in the ratings behind Fox News and MSNBC, you would think objective news would be a primary focus and they would look to replace Acosta at the White House with someone capable of objective news reporting.”
It is unfortunate that CNN is choosing to stand by Acosta rather than hire a new, less biased correspondent to replace him.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.