The lawsuit says that Acosta and CNN have been favorite targets of the administration, adding that they intend this suit to “ensure that the press remains free to question the government and to report the business of the nation to the American people.”
A number of derogatory tweets and comments made by Trump about CNN are mentioned in the suit. The suit noted that Trump retweeted “a video depicting him tackling and punching a man with a CNN logo superimposed on his face, adding the comments ‘#FraudNewsCNN’ and ‘#FNN.'”
Several historic court rulings are cited in the suit, including Sherrill v. Knight, which determined that content-based criteria for press passes violate the First Amendment, according to the American Bar Association.
Acosta has covered the White House for CNN since 2012 and has had press credentials, called a “hard pass” since 2013.
In a statement from White House Correspondents’ Association President Olivier Knox, the organization said it supported CNN’s lawsuit.
“Revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events of last Wednesday. We continue to urge the Administration to reverse course and fully reinstate CNN’s correspondent,” the statement read.
Trump’s reasoning for removing the pass was that Acosta failed to “treat the White House with respect,” according to the suit. In a contentious back-and-forth with Trump during a press briefing on Wednesday, the president called Acosta “a rude, terrible person” as the correspondent tried to ask him a question.
Sanders claimed that Acosta’s attempt to “monopolize the floor” did a disservice to the other reporters in the room.
Acosta tweeted Wednesday night that he had been denied access to the White House as he attempted to enter and showed video of him as he handed over his credentials to a Secret Service agent.
Sanders claimed in a statement that Acosta put “his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern” during the confrontation with Trump. A video of the exchange does not appear to support that accusation.
