The organisations argue that the decision violates constitutional protections for free speech and due process and amounts to impermissible discrimination based on their reporting.
A hearing on their application for immediate relief was scheduled for September 23 before a federal judge in Washington.
The US Justice Department has defended the administration’s authority to regulate access to restricted presidential areas, maintaining that access to areas of the White House is not an unrestricted constitutional entitlement.
The media organisations, however, contend that even where government may impose legitimate security or access restrictions, it cannot selectively penalise journalists simply because officials object to their reporting.
That distinction — between neutral access regulation and viewpoint-based exclusion — is likely to be central to the case.
The proceedings therefore extend beyond the three organisations involved.
They raise a broader constitutional question about how far an executive administration may go in controlling journalists’ physical access to government institutions without interfering with press freedoms.
READ MORE: Cybercrimes Act Under Fresh Scrutiny Over Journalism and Free Speech
Source: Reuters report
