It's Official: Federal Judges Have Decided That There Are Special Rules In the Constitution That Say Trump Doesn't Have the Basic Powers All Other Presidents Have

A judge -- appointed by Trump, actually -- decides the president can not deny a press pass to a non-reporter who physically pushes away an intern and declares that Jim Acosta now has his press pass back.

The judge said the government could not say who initially decided to revoke Acosta’s hard pass. The White House had spelled out its reasons for revoking his credentials in a tweet from White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and in a statement after CNN filed its lawsuit. But the judge said those "belated efforts were hardly sufficient to satisfy due process."

The judge also found that Acosta suffered "irreparable harm," dismissing the government's argument that CNN could simply send other reporters to cover the White House in Acosta’s place.

The suit by CNN alleges that Acosta's First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated by suspending his hard pass. While the judge didn't rule on the underlying case, he signaled they were likely to prevail in their claims.

This is an emergency injunction, not a decision following a full trial, but the judge found a substantial likelihood that CNN would prevail on the merits (which is necessary finding for granting an injunction).

posted by Ace of Spades at 12:36 PM

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