CNN has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and top White House aides.
The news organization announced the lawsuit Tuesday morning. It comes after last week’s incident involving White House correspondent Jim Acosta at a post-midterms news conference with the president.
Acosta got into a heated exchange with the president during the news conference. At one point, a White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab Acosta’s microphone.
The White House later suspended Acosta’s press pass and accused him of “placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern.” Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released video of the incident that many say was doctored.
In a tweet Tuesday morning, CNN communications said, “The White House has violated CNN and Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press and Fifth Amendment rights to due process.”
In the lawsuit, CNN demands the return of Acosta’s White House credentials.
“While the suit is specific to CNN and Acosta, this could have happened to anyone,” CNN said in a statement. “If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials.”
The lawsuit lists Trump and Sanders as defendants, along with Chief of Staff John Kelly and Deputy Chief of Staff William Shine. The United States Secret Service, its director Randolph Alles and a John Doe secret service agent are also listed.
You can read the full complaint here.
The president of the White House Correspondents’ Association later released a statement supporting the lawsuit.
“Revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events of last Wednesday,” Olivier Knox wrote. “We continue to urge the Administration to reverse course and fully reinstate CNN’s correspondent. The President of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him.”
