CNN was blocked from boarding Air Force One several times after a judge restored its access, so its attorney sent a letter to Trump’s DOJ

CNN has told President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) it will take further legal action if the White House keeps blocking the network from its role in the press pool rotation. The warning comes after a judge had already ordered that CNN’s access to the White House be restored.

As reported by The Hill, CNN attorney Ted Boutrous sent a letter to the DOJ arguing that efforts to retaliate against CNN over the content of its coverage are “mistaken, counterproductive, and unlawful.” He also wrote that certain White House spaces, which the West Wing has tried to keep CNN out of, “belong not to any particular president or administration but to all Americans.” Boutrous added that CNN and other members of the press serve as surrogates for the public when covering the White House.

President Trump previously tried to ban CNN and two other outlets from the White House, but a federal judge ordered that access for those journalists be restored. That decision led to a brief boycott from other TV networks, which rotate duties pooling coverage of the president’s daily activities and statements.

The pool rotation has become the next point of friction

CNN is part of that rotation, and it has been blocked on several occasions. According to the letter, CNN has been denied a seat on Air Force One each time it was scheduled to serve as the pool network, no fewer than four times. That includes Trump’s September trip to the United Nations and, most recently, a trip to Georgia and Florida. In a show of solidarity, the other major networks have declined to fill in when CNN has been excluded.

The five major TV networks take turns providing pooled coverage of the president’s events and trips, and news organizations worldwide rely on that footage. Boutrous noted that CNN has covered presidents in the Oval Office and on Air Force One for 45 years. He also cited figures showing Trump has fielded more than 4,700 questions in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and on the tarmac during his second term, compared with roughly 150 in the White House briefing room.

Boutrous wrote that the White House has given no written notice or explanation for leaving CNN out. The letter asks the administration to confirm in writing that it will abandon any policy of keeping CNN out of the Oval Office and Air Force One, and it gave the DOJ two days to respond. Others have also pushed back on requests from the Trump administration’s DOJ, including Utah’s lieutenant governor, who is now facing a DOJ investigation over voter data.

President Trump has been at odds with CNN for a long time and often accuses the network of publishing “fake news.” He also insists that he has the right to stop the network from covering his White House. After the judge’s latest ruling, a White House official said “the Fake News has no place demanding a spot in the President’s Oval Office.”

Judge Timothy Kelly’s October 13 preliminary injunction found that Trump’s ban likely violated the First Amendment, but it did not directly address more restricted spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One. The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment about CNN’s letter.