“The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a nonpublic forum like the Oval Office,” Judge McFadden wrote.
A federal judge has sided with the Associated Press after the Trump White House blocked the outlet from media events for refusing to use the term “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico.”
In a new ruling, Judge Trevor McFadden granted an injunction, calling the administration’s move blatant “viewpoint discrimination” and saying it violated the First Amendment, per CNN.
The White House had restricted AP’s access to the Oval Office and East Room after the outlet declined to adopt President Trump’s remaming for the body of water. The court said the AP doesn’t have a constitutional right to be in those spaces—but it does have a right not to be excluded because of its editorial stance. "The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a nonpublic forum like the Oval Office," McFadden wrote.
“This injunction does not limit the various permissible reasons the Government may have for excluding journalists from limited-access events,” the court wrote. “It does not mandate that all eligible journalists, or indeed any journalists at all, be given access to the President or nonpublic government spaces.”
However, the ruling emphasized that if access is offered to some, it cannot be denied to others just because of their viewpoint. “If the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less.”
In this case, the judge said the AP was excluded specifically because of its editorial stance. Several officials openly admitted this. The court noted, “Government counsel admitted that the AP was not being chosen for access, despite its ‘eligibility,’ because of its viewpoint.”
A key quote from the hearing transcript read: “I think the record is clear. . . . [T]hey are not being selected for Oval Office access because they refuse to adhere to what the President believes is the law of the United States . . . that the body of water is called the Gulf of America.”
The court found no other plausible reason for the AP’s exclusion. “The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a nonpublic forum like the Oval Office.”
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