(TNND) — Major television networks are standing with CNN after the Trump administration blocked the network from its scheduled White House pool duties Monday, a move that will leave some of President Donald Trump’s events without shared TV coverage.
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC said they would not send a replacement crew for CNN. In a rare joint statement, the networks said, “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
The decision means the shared TV pool will not cover events designated for pool coverage, according to an email obtained by CNN from Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who currently chairs the pool.
“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,” Boughton wrote. “There will be no replacement pool put in place.”
No network TV pool is expected to travel with Trump to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, according to The Associated Press. CNN had been assigned to cover the president’s trip before the White House barred the network from its pool duties. The AP said it will still cover Trump’s U.N. appearances with reporters on the ground providing live video, photos and reporting.
The five networks typically rotate pool responsibilities, sharing live video of the president with other news outlets worldwide. Boughton said other pool coverage, including of Congress, VIPs and selected events in Washington and elsewhere, will continue as normal.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico announced Monday that they are filing a First Amendment lawsuit against the Trump administration after being barred from the White House over what Trump called “fake news.”
A report from The Wall Street Journal suggested Trump’s decision followed a clip White House aide Natalie Harp showed him of MS NOW criticizing his administration.
The lawsuit is expected to argue that the White House engaged in viewpoint discrimination by revoking the outlets’ access over coverage Trump described as “negative.” Federal courts have previously held that White House credentials cannot be revoked based on a journalist’s reporting and generally require due process.
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the outlets said in a joint statement released by CNN.
CNN reported the emergency request could go before a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as soon as this week.