Representatives of the American news agency Associated Press asked the US federal court to order the administration of President Donald Trump to return full access to the White House, which was taken away from it a month and a half ago, because the AP will not call the Gulf of Mexico “American” as ordered by President Donald Trump.
On February 24, a federal judge dismissed a summary judgment appeal filed by the AP, a pillar of American journalism, to restore its full access to the White House, without ruling on the merits of the dispute. He asked both sides to present their arguments to him in writing and scheduled a new hearing to discuss them.
But last Thursday, the judge did not make a decision, instead saying he would do so “at the appropriate time.”
The agency was specifically barred from access to Trump’s Oval Office and the official presidential plane, Air Force One, for refusing to comply with the new American name for the Gulf of Mexico, renamed the “American Gulf” by an executive order signed by Trump.
On February 21, the AP filed a lawsuit against Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, Taylor Budovich, one of her deputies, and Caroline Leavitt, the presidential press secretary.
The agency’s attorney, Charles Tobin, condemned the “vile retaliation” that had a “chilling effect on all journalistic activity” in the United States.
“Since our ouster, we’ve had a lot of trouble staying in the race” with competing media outlets, said AP White House chief photographer Evan Vucci.
Attorney for the Department of Justice, Brian Hudak, responded on behalf of the Trump administration that granting access to journalists is a prerogative of the White House.
“There is no right of press access (to government institutions) under the First Amendment to the US Constitution” which guarantees freedom of the press and expression, he said.
In its written arguments submitted to the court, the Trump administration says that this case “is about whether the Constitution requires the President of the United States to favor the Associated Press over all other media and to give it permanent advantages and special access simply because previous administrations have decided to do so” and concludes that “the answer is categorically ‘No!’ “.
In an editorial, the AP explained that the US president’s executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “American Gulf” is valid only in the United States, while Mexico and other countries and international institutions are not required to comply with it.
“The Associated Press will call it by its original name, and at the same time will respect the new name chosen by Trump,” the agency said, recalling that the Gulf of Mexico has been called that for more than 400 years.
The AP agency, which was founded in 1846 by a group of New York newspapers, employs more than 3,000 people worldwide, and according to data for 2023, published more than 375,000 texts, 1.24 million photos and 80,000 videos.