White House ban on Associated Press can continue, appeals court rules

CNN —

A federal appeals court will allow the White House to exclude the Associated Press from access to the Oval Office, Mar-a-Lago and Air Force One if it chooses, according to a new court order in the ongoing legal battle over press access.

The decision hangs on a court finding that some White House spaces are not open to the broader public or large groups of press, and so the White House can choose which journalists it chooses to admit.

A lower court judge previously blocked the administration from excluding the Associated Press, and the appeals court has sided with the White House at this time.

The decision could bring about more appeals over the White House press corps and its access around the president.

“These restricted presidential spaces are not First Amendment fora open