The Justice Department argued before a federal appeals court that President Trump acted lawfully when banning Associated Press (AP) reporters from the Oval Office and other White House spaces.

What they’re saying: Government lawyer Yaakov Roth claimed that constitutional press freedoms do not guarantee AP special access to non-public areas, stating, “The president routinely invites Republicans and not Democrats into the Oval Office for ceremonies…For the same reasons he can invite favored reporters and not disfavored reporters to watch that ceremony in the Oval Office,” according to a report from Reuters.

Driving the news: The ban was a response to the AP’s refusal to use Trump’s preferred term, “Gulf of America,” instead of “Gulf of Mexico” in news coverage.

Go deeper: AP attorney Char

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