{"text":[[{"start":6.22,"text":"A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore White House access to news outlets that had been banned by the US president."}],[{"start":16.579,"text":"US District Judge Timothy Kelly on Thursday barred administration officials from enforcing Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House and directed the government to restore reporters’ credentials."}],[{"start":30.78,"text":"“The ‘general rule’ is that ‘individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them’ of a constitutionally protected interest,” Kelly, a Trump appointee, wrote in his decision granting the temporary restraining order."}],[{"start":45.44,"text":"Trump’s disdain for the media has been a feature of both his presidencies, but his move to ban three organisations from the White House last week marked a major escalation of his attacks on news outlets."}],[{"start":57.445,"text":"The US president said his ousting of CNN, MS Now and Politico was “a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” He did not point to specific stories, though his administration frequently disparages coverage it views as critical. The news outlets have defended their reporting."}],[{"start":74.48,"text":"Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for the news outlets, said at a hearing on Wednesday that Trump could criticise the media as much as he wished but he could not “use the power of the government” to quash coverage that frustrated him."}],[{"start":86.7,"text":"“Every day is a loss of First Amendment freedoms,” Boutrous said, referencing the US constitution’s guarantee of a free press."}],[{"start":93.82,"text":"DoJ lawyer Michael Velchik had argued that access to the White House was a “privilege not a right”, one which Trump has “personally” decided to revoke from CNN, MS Now and Politico."}],[{"start":105.38,"text":"The president should be allowed to “take immediate action” to protect national security, including by banning reporters, Velchik said."}],[{"start":113.54,"text":"Trump has invoked national security concerns to justify a range of actions, including building the White House ballroom and his so-called triumphal arch, revoking collective bargaining rights for federal employees and lifting protections on endangered species."}],[{"start":127.06,"text":"Letters sent by the White House press office pointed to news stories covering the White House ballroom, dwindling munitions amid the Iran war and an alleged FBI investigation into a reporter as examples of “reporting incidents” that “threatened national security and spread falsehoods”, prompting the revocations."}],[{"start":144.26,"text":"But Boutrous said the administration was “arguing that reporters shouldn’t scrutinise national security decisions and activities by the government”."}],[{"start":151.5,"text":"At the hearing, Kelly expressed scepticism that the news organisations were afforded due process, since the letters were received after credentials were revoked."}],[{"start":159.34,"text":"“The sorts of stories Defendants identify in the letters to Plaintiffs are routine,” he wrote in his decision. “The Court is skeptical . . . that Defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes.”"}],[{"start":175.56,"text":"He also said that the media organisations were “likely to suffer irreparable harm” as a result of the bans."}],[{"start":181.68,"text":"Trump has increased pressure on the press in his second term, launching lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in damages from outlets including the New York Times, BBC and Wall Street Journal over their reporting. Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, has also opened two probes into Disney’s ABC networks over its programming choices."}],[{"start":201.26,"text":"The Associated Press, meanwhile, filed a lawsuit after Trump blocked the news wire from attending certain White House events last year over its refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America."}],[{"start":212.42,"text":"During Trump’s first term in 2018, Kelly — the same judge overseeing news outlets’ challenge to their recent ban — ordered the administration to reinstate the White House credentials it revoked from a single CNN reporter."}],[{"start":224.38,"text":"In solidarity with the banned outlets, TV networks have refused to provide pool coverage of Trump’s activities this week. The FT is among more than four dozen news outlets and media advocacy groups who signed on to an amicus brief backing CNN, MS Now and Politico."}],[{"start":244.1,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790238506_8400.mp3"}