White House Removes CNN From TV Pool Duty Again

By Staff, Agencies

The White House has removed CNN from television pool duty for the second time in a week, excluding the network from coverage of US President Donald Trump’s Thursday trip to Texas and Oklahoma.

A pool network is assigned to film presidential events when space is limited, including aboard Air Force One or in small rooms, and shares its footage with other broadcasters. The five major US television networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox, normally rotate the role.

CNN had been designated as Thursday’s pool network on Sunday, but the administration removed it late Wednesday, according to The Guardian. Conservative outlet Real America’s Voice was instead assigned as the only network in the pool.

The other four networks declined to replace CNN, as they had done over the weekend. As a result, no shared pool footage of Trump’s movements is expected Thursday, although individual networks may cover parts of the trip independently.

The latest exclusion came days after the White House appeared to ease restrictions on CNN. On Sunday, the administration listed CNN as the in-town pool network for Thursday, with Real America’s Voice as the backup.

The move followed a separate incident Saturday, when CNN was excluded from pool duty aboard Air Force One. This came shortly after a federal district judge overturned the White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO.

The three outlets were initially barred from press access on September 18. They filed a lawsuit on September 21, and the court ruled in their favor on September 24.

The five primary television networks had initially suspended participation in the pool following the ban, before tentatively resuming operations and deciding daily whether to participate.

Lawyers representing the three outlets have asked the judge to extend the ruling for 14 days. A hearing is expected on whether to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the restrictions while the lawsuit proceeds.

Theodore J. Boutrous, who represents the networks, accused the White House of applying what he described as the president’s “ban on the free press” in an “erratic and unpredictable” manner.

CNN has not commented on its latest removal. A White House official defended Trump’s accessibility to the press while describing television networks as “performative and dishonest.”