CNN Files Suit Against White House to Reverse Jim Acosta Press Pass Suspension | THR News - video Dailymotion

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In the most dramatic action yet in the ongoing feud between the media and the White House, CNN filed suit on Tuesday to reverse the Trump administration's decision last Wednesday to suspend chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta's "hard pass."

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00:00The feud continues between the media and the White House, with CNN filing a suit Tuesday to

00:04reverse the Trump administration's decision to suspend Chief White House Correspondent Jim

00:08Acosta's hard pass, which grants access to the building. The statement issued by the network

00:13read, in part, CNN filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in D.C. District Court.

00:18It demands the return of the White House credentials of CNN's Chief White House

00:21Correspondent Jim Acosta. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta's

00:27First Amendment rights of freedom of the press and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process.

00:31CNN continued,

00:32We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass to be returned to Jim

00:37and will seek permanent relief as part of this process. While the suit is specific to CNN and

00:42Acosta, this could have happened to anyone. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House

00:47would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers elected officials.

00:51The lawsuit was filed against President Trump, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders,

00:55Communications Director Bill Shine, Chief of Staff General John Kelly, the Director of the

01:00Secret Service, and an unidentified Secret Service agent.

01:03Sanders announced the suspension in a statement last Wednesday night, alleging that Acosta

01:07placed his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern during a

01:11press conference after the midterm elections. Acosta responded by calling the White House's

01:16statement a lie, while CNN and Acosta's peers argued that he did nothing wrong and was simply

01:21attempting to keep his microphone and asked the president a second question. Meanwhile, the White

01:25House has responded to the lawsuit in a statement, labeling it as just more grandstanding from CNN

01:30and adding, we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit. CNN, who has nearly 50 additional

01:36hard pass holders, and Mr. Acosta is no more or less special than any other media outlet or reporter

01:40with respect to the First Amendment, Sanders said in a statement. After Mr. Acosta asked the

01:45president two questions, each of which the president answered, he physically refused to surrender a

01:50White House microphone to an intern so that other reporters might ask their questions. This was not

01:55the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters. On Wednesday

02:00night, Sanders tweeted out a video of Acosta's interaction with the intern in question that appeared

02:04to have been doctored to make the encounter look more aggressive than it actually was. In the lawsuit,

02:09CNN said that Acosta is widely reputed as a diligent and thorough reporter for one of the nation's

02:14most respected and widely watched networks. The argument was also made that the White

02:18House is Acosta's workplace and that his hard pass is mandatory. Without this credential, a daily

02:24White House correspondent like Acosta effectively cannot do his or her job. Without a hard pass,

02:29a reporter may well miss the newsworthy events, particularly including the many notable events

02:34that occur with little notice. A hard pass is effectively required to be a White House

02:38correspondent for a national news organization such as CNN. The suit also alleges that both the White

02:44House and Secret Service did not and have not follow due process in denying Acosta's access

02:48and states that CNN President Jeff Zucker emailed Kelly last Thursday and demanded that Acosta's

02:53access be reinstated. This is not a step we have taken lightly, but the White House action is

02:58unprecedented, Zucker wrote in an internal memo to staff on Tuesday. The First Amendment grants the

03:03rights of all journalists to hold those in power accountable and ask tough questions. It's what Jim

03:09and all of his colleagues who cover the White House and the administration do with integrity and

03:13professionalism. As we have said before, we will always stand up for our rights. That is why we have

03:18filed suit. To read more on this story, head to THR.com. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lindsay

03:23Rodriguez.

CNN Files Suit Against White House to Reverse Jim Acosta Press Pass Suspension | THR News

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