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The Trump administration must immediately reinstate White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, a US federal judge ordered Thursday, after their reporters were banned from the premises.

Trump has long attacked media outlets that have aired critical coverage of his campaigns and administrations, repeatedly blasting the press as the “enemy of the people.”

The three outlets were barred from the White House by the billionaire former reality TV star on Friday as punishment for distributing what he branded “fake news” and “fiction and lies.”

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a joint lawsuit asking for a temporary restraining order against the ban on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which upholds the right to a free press.

Judge Timothy Kelly found that the revocation of press passes “likely violated their constitutional due process rights,” according to the eight-page ruling issued Thursday.

“The ‘general rule’ is that ‘individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them’ of a constitutionally protected interest,” Kelly wrote.

A reporter looks at his phone in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on September 19, 2026.

The judge said that press credentials held by employees of the three outlets will be reinstated “until further Order of the Court or the expiration of this Temporary Restraining Order”, which is to remain in effect for 14 days.

Kelly added that the order cannot be immediately appealed.

Ahead of the ruling, the Department of Justice had argued Trump can “control reporters’ access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office.”

“Access to the White House is a privilege — not a right,” it said.

‘National security’

The White House Press Office accused CNN in a letter to the cable news outlet of “trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information,” with similar accusations leveled against MS NOW and Politico.

The letter to CNN cited several stories about the US-Iran war and a story on Trump’s plans to build a military bunker below the planned East Wing ballroom which allegedly “disclosed ‘top-secret’ construction details.”

Theodore Boutrous, representing the media outlets in court on Wednesday, told the judge that in Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the bans, the president “didn’t say anything about national security.”

Boutrous argued that being punished for reporting on national security issues “that the government would rather have not be reported on is just contrary to First Amendment principles.”

Kelly said the stories identified in letters to the outlets were “routine”.

“The Court is skeptical — at least on this record — that Defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes,” Kelly said, referring to the White House press credentials.

Journalists for the three news organizations were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday and had their passes confiscated, in the latest flare-up of the 80-year-old Republican president’s assault on mainstream US media.

‘Shouldn’t be here’

In a previous case involving CNN during Trump’s first term, Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the White House to temporarily restore access for a CNN reporter whose pass had been revoked.

In a rare move, the top five US broadcasters said Monday that they were halting pool coverage of the White House — where a broadcaster films on behalf of all television outlets for the day — in solidarity with CNN.

“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said.

The White House Correspondents’ Association and nearly 50 news organizations also filed a brief with the court calling for the bans on CNN, MS NOW and Politico to be reversed.

Trump appeared to suggest on Tuesday that CNN should not be covering him outside of the White House either.

“I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You shouldn’t be here,” Trump told a reporter at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The White House launched a streaming channel, Trump TV, on Monday which it said would show “top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time.”

The ban came at a time when Trump’s approval ratings are at record lows, his Republican Party risks losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, and the Middle East conflict drags on with no end in sight.

AFP

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A United States-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has warned that Washington cannot afford to allow any attempt to manipulate Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

The firm made the statement in a post on its verified X account on Thursday, September 24, while raising fresh allegations about the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Von Batten-Montague-York alleged that there was growing concern across Nigeria’s political divide over what it described as corruption within the federal government.

The firm also alleged that Tinubu appointed an individual as the minister responsible for the nation’s budget despite claims it attributed to the United States Department of Justice concerning the person’s alleged involvement in the embezzlement of billions of dollars from Nigeria’s treasury during a previous administration.

However, the firm did not provide further details or evidence in its latest post to substantiate the allegation.

On the 2027 election, the firm said the United States had a significant interest in ensuring that Nigeria conducts a credible and peaceful electoral process.

“The US cannot afford to allow President Tinubu to rig the upcoming Nigerian election,” the firm stated.

It further alleged that what it described as “lawlessness” in Nigeria could place the country on a trajectory similar to developments witnessed in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

“Free and fair elections in Nigeria are essential to protecting US interests in Nigeria and the broader region,” it added.

Background

The latest statement is part of a series of interventions by Von Batten-Montague-York on Nigeria’s political affairs ahead of the 2027 elections.

Earlier this month, the firm alleged that the Tinubu administration was seeking to influence the 2027 presidential election through state institutions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission, the judiciary and law-enforcement agencies. The firm did not provide independently verified evidence for those claims in the statement cited at the time.

The firm’s political activities in Nigeria have also attracted attention because it was hired by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar under a lobbying agreement filed with the US Department of Justice. TheCable reported in September that the contract was valued at $1.2 million for 12 months and was intended, among other objectives, to strengthen Atiku’s standing in Washington and counter narratives associated with the Nigerian government.

That background is relevant to the latest statement because it shows that the firm’s comments on Nigeria’s political environment come from an organisation that has been engaged in advocacy on behalf of a major political figure preparing for the 2027 contest.

The firm’s statement should therefore be distinguished from an official position of the US government. There is no indication in the cited report that Washington has announced a policy to intervene in Nigeria’s 2027 election or accused Tinubu of planning to rig the poll. The claims about election manipulation and corruption remain allegations made by Von Batten-Montague-York.

With Nigeria’s 2027 general elections approaching, electoral integrity, the independence of state institutions and the role of international partners are expected to remain major issues in the country’s political debate.

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The Apo- Karshi road project was awarded in 2011, and abandoned for over a decade.

The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, was there a few minutes ago to see things for himself.