announced the ban on Friday, accusing the organizations of writing "fiction or lies" about his team. The companies said their reporters were denied access to the building on Saturday. In a joint statement on Monday, they said they were pursuing legal action to "protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports". Posting on Truth Social shortly after, Trump said the White House was not "instituting an assault on the Free Press" and that he was targeting "FAKE NEWS". The First Amendment forbids the government from "abridging" the freedom of the press - language that courts have traditionally interpreted as preventing the government from discriminating against the media based on the content of their coverage.

A statement from CNN, Politico and MS NOW continued: "Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference." BBC News has asked the White House for comment. Announcing the ban last week, Trump did not mention specific stories or reporting that prompted the move, but later said "it's really just cumulative stories over the last few years". The US president added that there "may be others to join them". (BBC)