AP sues 3 Trump officials over access to presidential events – Washington Examiner
The Associated Press has filed a lawsuit against three officials from the Trump governance over restricted access to the Oval Office. The lawsuit comes after the White House barred the news institution from covering President Donald Trump due to its refusal to use the term “Gulf of America” rather of “Gulf of Mexico.” The AP argues that this limitation violates First Amendment rights, asserting that both the press and the public have the right to use thier own language without goverment retaliation. Trump confirmed at a press conference that the AP would remain excluded from the Oval Office until they complied with the preferred terminology. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration’s position, stating that coverage of the White House is a privilege that can be granted or revoked at the discretion of the administration.
Associated Press sues 3 Trump officials over presidential event access, citing First Amendment
The Associated Press is suing several Trump administration officials after the White House limited the organization’s access to the Oval Office over its refusal to use the term “Gulf of America” to describe what was formerly called the Gulf of Mexico.
The news wire announced its lawsuit against White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich, and press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday afternoon. It alleges that Wiles and Leavitt said the Associated Press could not cover President Donald Trump from the Oval Office unless it updated its stylebook to replace the Gulf of Mexico with the Gulf of America.
“The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government,” the Associated Press said in its lawsuit.
“This targeted attack on the AP’s editorial independence and ability to gather and report the news strikes at the very core of the First Amendment,” the news wire said. “This court should remedy it immediately.”
Trump made it clear that the Associated Press’s decision not to use the term Gulf of America is why the outlet is indefinitely barred from the Oval Office at a press conference on Tuesday: “We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America.”
In defending the decision, Leavitt stated that “it is a privilege to cover this White House” and that the Trump administration reserves the right to decide who goes into the Oval Office.
“Nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions. That’s an invitation that is given,” she said.
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Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America via an executive order on his first day in office.
“I took this action in part because, as stated in that Order, ‘[t]he area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America,” he wrote in a proclamation.
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