A District Court judge temporarily restored CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass, which had been revoked by President Donald Trump. Acosta’s pass had been taken away after he got aggressive with a White House intern who tried to retrieve a mic from him while he was grandstanding at a press conference.
According to Axios:
“U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order Friday forcing the White House to reinstate CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials. Kelly said it is likely that Acosta’s first and fifth amendment rights were violated when the White House suspended his press pass, saying he believes CNN and Acosta are likely to prevail in the case.”
The Fifth Amendment protected Acosta
When it comes to law, process matters. The same apparently rung true for Acosta’s press pass.
Judge Kelly relied heavily on precedent from a 1977 Circuit Court ruling in favor of Robert Sherill. Eleven years previous Sherill’s credentials were denied, and when he inquired as to why, the Secret Service replied that they couldn’t tell him the reasons. Sherill reapplied for credentials in 1972, and they were denied again without explanation.
Along with the ACLU, Sherill successfully made his case on First Amendment, but mainly Fifth Amendment grounds.
CNN’s case continues – and Judge Kelly clarifies this is a “narrow” ruling
The case is far from over – and Acosta being granted the temporary injunction restoring his press pass is only the first legal hurdle in this battle. His press pass has been restored as the case unfolds, which could either go in his favor (in which nothing will change), or against him (in which case it’ll be re-revoked).
But the most important piece of this whole episode is getting relatively little attention compared to its importance.
Judge Kelly did clarify that this is a narrow ruling on his part. “I want to emphasize the very limited nature of this ruling,” he said, not ruling on whether or not the White House violated CNN or Acosta’s First Amendment rights. Kelly says he still hasn’t determined whether or not Acosta’s First Amendment rights were violated.
In other words, it’s likely that the White House did have a valid reason to suspend Acosta’s press pass, they just didn’t follow the right procedure.
Knowing Jim Acosta though, he’ll present plenty of new opportunities for the White House to revoke his credentials once again. Ironically, if Acosta behaved the way he did in the White House in Judge Kelly’s courtroom, he’d be arrested.
