The lawyers for CNN and MS NOW say that President Donald Trump is basically their "lead witness" in their case to sink his media ban.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, heard the case against Trump's media ban as he considered a temporary restraining order to block it. CNN, MS NOW and Politico were all kicked out of the White House by the media ban, but lawyers said their strategy hinged on using Trump's words against him.
Politico legal reporter Kyle Cheney wrote in a post on X, "Lawyer for Politico, CNN, MS NOW Ted Boutrous says President Trump is basically 'our lead witness' because he keeps making plain why the ban happened: he doesn't like the outlets' coverage."
Cheney reported in a Politico article that Kelly indicated early in the hearing that "Trump's effort to strip credentials from Politico, CNN and MS NOW appeared to violate binding legal precedents requiring that journalists have advance notice of the rules they must observe."
However, during the hearing, Kelly said that the legal precedent "wasn't followed here," according to Politico. Cheney expanded on Kelly's words in a post on X, where Cheney wrote that Kelly "imediately makes clear he's bound by D.C. Circuit precedent that upholds due process protections for WH reporters who hold hard passes."
Kelly said, "I think it is fair to say that the process" wasn't followed, per Cheney. In his Politico article, Cheney wrote that Kelly "appeared skeptical" about ruling in favor of Trump.
NYU Law professor and CNN legal analyst Ryan Goodman had a stronger read of the hearing, writing in a post on X that the "White House will lose on clear violation of due process when fundamental First Amendment interest at stake." Goodman posted his analysis on X just minutes after the hearing ended.
"DOJ had no answer to Judge Kelly's points about precedent requiring government to provide standards prior to alleged misconduct," Goodman pointed out. "None."