White House Scores Early Win as Judge Rules Against AP’s TRO Request

The AP took the White House to court over a dispute that may appear petty in the grand scheme of things.

The D.C. district court judge Trevor McFadden heard the AP motion for a TRO on Monday. He has denied it but has scheduled a hearing for a preliminary order on March 20th.

JUST IN: The AP’s emergency request to be allowed to attend WH press events has been denied by Judge McFadden. However, he has ordered that the matter be expedited due to the seriousness of the issues involved.

If you’ll excuse the pun, “heavy issues” might be doing some heavy lifting there. The Trump administration renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and the AP refuses to acknowledge this change in its style guide. The White House has revoked AP access to Air Force One and the Oval Office in return. According to the AP, this is a violation of their First and Fifth Amendment Rights.

Statement by the Associated Press:

The government is telling the press and the public what words they should use and will retaliate if they do not.

The White House has limited AP’s coverage for presidential events due to the way we refer to a place. For over 100 years, The Associated Press has provided critical and independent White House coverage.

“Telling the public and the press what words to use.” Right.

People are claiming the White House is bullying the AP, repeating the saw that Trump is telling them “what words to use.” If you don’t see the irony, you’ve never used the AP stylebook.

McFadden’s order can be read in full below. He finds, in a nutshell, that the AP did not make the necessary showings to warrant a TRO. He does give the AP a little bit of a break by ordering a more expedited schedule for briefings on their preliminary injunction request.

The White House released a statement to celebrate the victory.

“As we said from the start, asking questions of the President of the United States in the Oval Office or aboard Air Force One was a privilege, not a right, granted to journalists. We will not change our decision to hold Fake News accountable. President Trump will also continue to provide unprecedented access to the media. “This is the most transparent Administration ever.”

They celebrated their victory in the Briefing Room.

Round One of this tussle goes to the White House.