The United States Department of Justice told a federal court that the president can restrict reporters’ access to the White House, including on the basis of their coverage, and that “access to the White House is a privilege, not a right”, according to the filing submitted late on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, and reported by the Times of India.

The filing says the administration can deny entry to restricted areas for “viewpoint-discriminatory reasons” and that the First Amendment does not give journalists an independent right of access. It answers the lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW and Politico, whose credentials were seized on Saturday, 19 September; the outlets are seeking a temporary restraining order, with a hearing set for Wednesday, 23 September, before US District Judge Timothy Kelly, according to the Times of India, the Associated Press and MS NOW. The White House gave the three newsrooms until Friday, 25 September, to contest the decision and the facts it cites, and the letters mention reporting on a bunker beneath the White House east wing, on depleted US missile-defence interceptor stocks and on FBI leak investigations, according to the Times of India.