00:00Our press corps colleagues from these now-banned news organizations
00:03had their access revoked by the U.S. Secret Service.
00:06This morning, CNN, MSNOW, and Politico
00:10all vowing to fight President Trump's new ban
00:13as a violation of the First Amendment.
00:15These CNN journalists were seen entering a security checkpoint
00:18on Pennsylvania Avenue,
00:20only to walk out without their White House credentials.
00:23The Secret Service agent in the guardhouse,
00:25with whom I have been friendly in the past,
00:28asked to see my badge,
00:29and I handed it over to him.
00:31He told me that it had been deactivated.
00:33The same thing happened to a reporter from MSNOW.
00:36I asked why I was not able to get inside.
00:39He said it was above him.
00:40In a new statement Saturday,
00:42the White House Correspondents Association
00:43urged the immediate restoration of the credentials,
00:46saying the American people,
00:48through a free and independent press,
00:50must be able to scrutinize those elected to power,
00:53regardless of whether government officials view it favorably.
00:56Trump defending his move Friday.
00:58There's something wrong with a country
01:01that can allow people to write purposely negative stories.
01:06Now, if they want to write them, that's fine,
01:08but I don't have to let them into my,
01:10into the people's house.
01:12But critics say the ban is a direct assault
01:14on the First Amendment,
01:15and on court rulings dating back decades,
01:18protecting reporters' access to the White House.
01:20And the main point judges have consistently made
01:23is that it's the American public's right to know
01:25what their government is doing that's on the line
01:27when it chooses who does and doesn't get to cover it.
01:30Gio?
01:31Okay, Stephen Portnoy, thank you so much.
01:32Let's go ahead and bring in ABC News
01:33Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl,
01:35who's going to be hosting this week,
01:37later this morning here on ABC.
01:39John, it's good to see you.
01:40Let's keep talking about the president's ban
01:41on CNN, MSNOW, and Politico at the White House.
01:44Could we see political consequences for this?
01:47Well, Gio, first of all,
01:49this is an extraordinary move
01:50by the president of the United States.
01:52He was perfectly clear in explaining
01:54why he did this, why he is doing it.
01:57He did it because he does not like
01:59the reporting of these news organizations.
02:03And the courts have consistently ruled
02:06that you cannot have what is called
02:07viewpoint discrimination
02:09in making decisions of who,
02:11and who has access and who doesn't have access.
02:14So the politics of this,
02:17we'll see, I mean, you know,
02:19certainly attacks on the press
02:20have been something that Democrats
02:23and Republicans have engaged on over the years,
02:25but this is more than just an attack on the press.
02:28This is, and you will see,
02:30I am certain legal action here,
02:33this is an attack on the First Amendment.
02:36And one immediate consequence
02:37could be the president facing
02:39a stiff challenge in court for this action.
02:43And John, the midterms are also just 44 days away now.
02:47The war in Iran is driving fuel prices up.
02:49We're going to talk about that more
02:50in just a moment here.
02:52But politically, what does this mean
02:53for Republicans in the midterms?
02:55Well, you know, first of all,
02:57I think that this may help explain
02:59in part why Trump did what he did.
03:02Trump had a really tough week
03:04in terms of economic news.
03:07You know, you had, of course,
03:08the Fed raising interest rates.
03:10You had diesel hitting a record high.
03:12Oil now over $100 a barrel.
03:15And you are seeing the effect of this
03:18in House races and Senate races
03:20across the country.
03:22I can tell you right now
03:24that Republicans are worried
03:26not just about losing control of the House,
03:28but potentially losing in some very red states,
03:33which could lead to a potential
03:35to lose the Senate as well.
03:36All right, a lot to watch there.
03:38And I know you're going to watch all of it.
03:39John Carl, thank you so much.
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