MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner on Saturday described arriving at the White House campus to discover her badge no longer worked. “The officer asked me to hand over my badge. He said that it was disabled. I asked why I was not able to get inside. He said it was above him,” she recounted.
Reporters from CNN and Politico shared similar experiences.
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference,” the joint statement from the outlets continued.
TIME has reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump announced the decision Friday afternoon in a Truth Social post that warned other news outlets could face similar restrictions.
“Effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW… and Politico… from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ fake news!” Trump said. “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report fiction and lies when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America.”
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