Hollow core of Trump's 'preposterous' press ban exposed by shock leak disclosure: expert
A CNN analysis keyed in on the latest bombshell revelation about a White House leaker to tear into President Donald Trump's media ban.
On Wednesday, former federal prosecutor and columnist Jeffrey Toobin spoke with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper about the hearing regarding Trump's media ban. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly was still expected to rule on a temporary restraining order sought by lawyers for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, who were kicked out of the White House by the ban.
Cooper brought up that the Department of Justice argued to keep the ban in place by citing national security concerns. Toobin said, "It's understandable why the White House is trying this, because the courts are at their most deferential to the executive branch when it comes to national security."
However, Toobin tore into the DOJ's and White House's national security argument and noted how they've undercut it themselves. He mentioned reporting that came out shortly after Wednesday's hearing and while Kelly still hadn't ruled on the case.
In a letter made public through a court filing on Tuesday, the White House justified banning Politico by citing an article with high-level information about the Iran war and characterized it as a leak that endangered national security. However, Status reported on Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance was responsible for leaking the information in question to Politico.
Toobin brought it up as he ripped the DOJ's national security argument, saying, "One of the articles that the White House is complaining about, the source for that was JD Vance, the vice president of the United States."
He continued, "So, they're trying to kick Politico out of the White House for a story where the source was JD Vance. I mean, it just shows how preposterous this argument is."
The Washington Post noted that the White House also called the information that Politico reported "misinformation," even though it came from Vance.