CNN Sues Trump Over White House Press Pass
Gibson Dunn duo Ted Boutrous and Ted Olson have jumped in to represent the news giant after the White House revoked a reporter's press pass last week.
November 13, 2018 at 10:27 AM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher duo Ted Boutrous and Ted Olson are representing CNN and reporter Jim Acosta in a lawsuit filed Tuesday challenging the Trump administration's decision to suspend Acosta's access to the White House.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., federal court, aims to restore Acosta's White House press pass, where he has covered the Trump administration for CNN. The civil complaint said the White House's revocation violates the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment right to due process, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.
“Plaintiffs bring this action to enforce this constitutional commitment, restore Acosta's well-deserved press credentials, and ensure that the press remains free to question the government and to report the business of the nation to the American people,” the complaint said.
The White House revoked Acosta's access after a contentious press conference last week, which saw a tangle between him and a White House aide over the use of a microphone. The Trump administration, which has long been critical of CNN and has derided it as “fake news,” claimed Acosta acted inappropriately in the incident.
The Associated Press reported that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said CNN's suit “is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against his lawsuit.”
The complaint by Boutrous and Olson challenges the White House's explanation for the move. “The content and viewpoint of CNN's and Acosta's reporting on the Trump administration—not his interaction with the staffer at the November 7 press conference—were the real reason the White House indefinitely revoked his press credentials,” the filing said.
After news of the revocation first broke last Wednesday evening, Boutrous tweeted of the decision: “This sort of angry, irrational, false, arbitrary, capricious content-based discrimination regarding a White House press credential against a journalist quite clearly violates the First Amendment. See Sherrill v Knight (DC Cir 1977).”
The case was assigned to Judge Timothy Kelly of the District of Columbia. Kelly, a Trump appointee, has been seated on the court since September. Earlier this year, he sided with the Trump administration in a fight over leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Read the lawsuit:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllOn The Move: Ex-Partner Returns to Lead Nelson Mullins Corporate Group, Burr & Forman Hires University GC as COO
5 minute readLaw Firm Sued for Telemarketing Calls to Customers on Do Not Call Registry
Evidence Explained: Prevailing Attorney Outlines Successful Defense in Inmate Death Case
Trending Stories
- 1We the People?
- 2New York-Based Skadden Team Joins White & Case Group in Mexico City for Citigroup Demerger
- 3No Two Wildfires Alike: Lawyers Take Different Legal Strategies in California
- 4Poop-Themed Dog Toy OK as Parody, but Still Tarnished Jack Daniel’s Brand, Court Says
- 5Meet the New President of NY's Association of Trial Court Jurists
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250