The ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is demanding the White House explain its decision to ban CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the premises.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) sent a letter Monday to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung calling the ban the president’s “most blatant assault on press freedom.”
Garcia requested that Cheung provide a detailed account by October 5 of when and how he was informed of the ban and how he responded.
The letter also asks who was consulted before the decision was made and what legal justification the White House relied upon to move forward.
Garcia further demanded to know whether the affected outlets were given any opportunity to respond before being denied access to the White House grounds.
“Donald Trump just launched one of the most blatant attacks on the First Amendment and free press we’ve seen,” Garcia said in his statement accompanying the letter.
“While this Administration claims to be the most transparent in history, the actions taken by the White House this week directly contradict the rights laid out in our Constitution,” Garcia added.
“This unconstitutional decision and assault on the press by President Trump must be reversed immediately, and we will continue fighting to protect the First Amendment from Trump’s fragile ego,” Garcia said.
Garcia also wrote that “The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, not freedom from criticism,” pressing the White House to account for any consideration given to the decision.
He asked that all White House staff documents and communications related to the ban be preserved along with any other relevant materials.
Trump announced Friday that he was seeking to block journalists from Politico, MSNBC, and CNN, citing what he described as “constant ‘reporting'” of what he called “FICTION and LIES.”
White House officials first denied the outlets entry to the grounds on Saturday morning, putting the ban into immediate effect following Trump’s public announcement.
CNN, MSNBC, and Politico have argued the ban is unconstitutional because it was imposed in direct response to their news coverage of the administration.
The three outlets filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to restore their access to the White House while the broader legal challenge proceeds through the courts.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Garcia’s letter or the ongoing litigation.
