Here is the Latest from Jay Bookman regarding Trump’s not allowing reporters in federal facilities.
“In court this week, Trump lawyers are trying to defend his decision to strip CNN reporter Jim Acosta of his White House press credentials. Tellingly, they have acknowledged in court that they are dropping the argument that Acosta deserved banishment because he had “laid hands” on a White House staffer. He did not, and lawyers didn’t dare press that lie before a judge when clear video evidence contradicted them.
Instead, they have argued that as president, Trump can ban any reporter he pleases from covering the White House, for any reason or for no reason. And not just anybody, but EVERYbody, and not just from the White House, but from any federal facility.
“If the president wants to exclude all reporters from the White House grounds, he has the authority to do that,” lawyers told the judge. "There doesn't need to be a reason because there's no First Amendment protection and the president has broad discretion."
That’s the America that Trump wants to create, the America that would be “great again.” It’s an America in which the checks and balances on his power have been dismantled, an America totally at odds with our history and traditions.”