Judge Orders Trump Administration To Endure Journalism

A federal judge triggered a constitutional emergency Thursday by ordering President Donald Trump’s administration to permit journalism inside the White House, temporarily restoring press credentials to CNN, MS NOW and Politico. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee apparently radicalized by reading the First Amendment past the opening clause, ruled that the administration’s ban was likely unconstitutional. Kelly ordered the passes returned and blocked enforcement for 14 days, exposing federal officials to follow-up questions, contradictory evidence and reporters who have not signed loyalty oaths to the president’s current mood.

Trump condemned the ruling as a government takeover of his preferred information environment. “Nobody has ever seen anything like this, where a judge forces very unfair reporters into a building and allows them to write down what I say,” Trump said. “It is basically the federal seizure of my personal compliments, and many constitutional scholars agree that criticism is not protected when it is about me.” The administration had defended the ban as necessary to preserve national security, professionalism and decorum, three principles now defined as preventing anyone from asking why the president said the thing everyone just heard him say.

White House officials warned that the decision could establish a dangerous precedent under which presidents may not personally select which journalists are authorized to observe reality. If allowed to stand, future administrations could be forced to tolerate newspapers, cameras, unapproved adjectives and possibly entire paragraphs containing unfavorable information. The restored reporters are expected to resume covering the White House immediately, creating an unstable environment in which presidential statements may be recorded, compared with earlier statements and published where voters can see them. Officials urged Americans to remain calm while the administration appeals this outbreak of constitutional literacy, confirming that unrestricted access to verifiable information remains the gravest threat facing the republic.

* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.