CNN threatens to go back to court over exclusion from Air Force One press pool

CNN demands pool access restored

CNN has warned the Trump administration that it will seek further relief in federal court unless the White House stops keeping the network off Air Force One and out of its assigned spots in the presidential press pool, according to reporting by CNN and TheWrap on Tuesday. The demand came in a letter sent Monday to the Justice Department by Ted Boutrous, CNN's outside counsel. ^{[1] [2]}

Boutrous wrote that the administration's moves to single out CNN over its coverage were "mistaken, counterproductive, and unlawful," CNN reported. The letter asks the government to confirm in writing by 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday that it will drop any policy of excluding CNN from the Oval Office and Air Force One, according to CNN and TheWrap. Mediaite's account of the letter did not mention a deadline. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

What CNN says has happened

According to CNN, the network has been left off the White House's list several times when it was next in the television pool rotation, most recently for the out-of-town travel pool on President Donald Trump's trip to Georgia and Florida last weekend. CNN reported that the other major networks declined to take its place, and that Boutrous said the White House gave no written notice or explanation for the exclusions. ^[1]

To argue that these restricted spaces matter, Boutrous cited figures showing Trump has taken more than 4,700 questions in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One and on the tarmac during his second term, against roughly 150 in the White House briefing room, both CNN and TheWrap reported. ^{[1] [2]}

White House response

An unnamed White House official told TheWrap on Tuesday that no journalist has a constitutional right to access the Oval Office, Air Force One or other secure facilities. "When publications lie, fabricate, and ignore the truth, proximity matters less," the official said. TheWrap reported that the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and CNN said the department had not replied to its request by Tuesday morning. ^{[2] [1]}

The underlying ban and court fight

The dispute grows out of Trump's Sept. 18 social media announcement that reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico would lose their White House hard passes, CBS News reported. Trump accused the outlets of reporting "FICTION and LIES," according to Mediaite. TheWrap reported that the ban covered 78 journalists across the three organizations. ^{[4] [3] [5]}

The outlets sued on Sept. 21, alleging First Amendment retaliation and a denial of due process. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, restored access temporarily in late September and on Oct. 13 granted a preliminary injunction, finding the revocations likely violated the outlets' First and Fifth Amendment rights, CBS News reported. Kelly described the reporting the government had flagged as "commonplace, for better or worse," and found the administration had not shown the decision rested on national security grounds. ^[4]

Justice Department lawyers filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Oct. 14, TheWrap reported. The appeal does not automatically pause Kelly's order. That order protects hard-pass credentials only and does not guarantee places in presidential pools, which is the gap CNN's letter targets. ^{[5] [2]}

What comes next

If the administration does not respond by Thursday, CNN says it is prepared to go back to court. Any new challenge would run into a separate case brought by The Associated Press, which sued after Trump restricted its access to Air Force One and the Oval Office. In June 2025 an appeals panel partly sided with the administration in that case, finding such limited presidential spaces are unlikely to be First Amendment forums, CNN reported. Boutrous called that ruling non-binding, and the AP is still waiting on a decision from the full appeals court. ^{[1] [2]}