The White House has decided to continue its war with Jim Acosta and in the process we wake up to another day of threatening the very foundations this country was built on. This is about much more than Jim Acosta or CNN. Every White House wants to control the message. Donald Trump wants to control the messenger.
White House officials sent Jim Acosta a letter shortly after the judge’s decision to temporarily restore his White House pass Friday. CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter says the letter “essentially lays the groundwork to take the press pass and revoke it again, which would essentially be at the end of the month.”
CNN Communications responded to all this saying:
The @WhiteHouse is continuing to violate the First and Fifth amendments of the Constitution. These actions threaten all journalists and news organizations. @Acosta and CNN will continue to report the news about the White House and @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/knr1NpyMVv
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 19, 2018
Monday CNN asked the U.S. District Court for another emergency hearing. CNN reports:
In a court filing on Monday, CNN’s lawyers said the network and Acosta “remain hopeful” that the parties “can resolve this dispute without further court intervention.”But the new letter from Shine and Sanders is an “attempt to provide retroactive due process,” the lawyers said.So CNN and Acosta are seeking a hearing on a preliminary injunction “for the week of November 26, 2018, or as soon thereafter as possible,” according to Monday’s filing.
Stelter says:
“This is not about Acosta. it’s about a slippery slope, what other reporters could be targeted by this White House and it is about why the president is trying to pick and choose the reporters who are covering… That’s why I think CNN is willing to keep going to court and fighting this battle.”
Over the weekend Fox’s Chris Wallace asked Donald Trump himself what the next steps with Acosta are and Trump replied: “if he misbehaves we will throw him out or we’ll stop the news conference.” So it seems Trump is basically laying the groundwork that the next time someone asks a tough question they too can expect a swift punishment, just for doing their job.