CNN Tried to Make Peace Before Suing Trump Over Jim Acosta
CNN sued President Donald Trump and several top administration officials on Tuesday after days worth of intense behind-the-scenes negotiations in which network officials repeatedly attempted to convince Team Trump to restore their top White House reporter’s credentials.
Last week, the White House press office announced it would revoke CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s “hard pass”—the security credential granted to all prominent journalists who regularly cover the White House—after the reporter engaged in a tense back-and-forth with President Trump during a press conference.
In the following days, the White House’s justifications for such action constantly shifted. At one point, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders shared a doctored video to falsely suggest Acosta violently “laid his hands on” a White House intern who attempted to grab away his microphone during his confrontation with the president.
And on Tuesday, CNN responded by suing the Trump administration in a Washington, D.C. district court, claiming that the White House had violated the network and Acosta’s First and Fifth Amendment rights to free speech and due process.
But that decision came after other options failed.
“This is not a step we have taken lightly. But the White House action is unprecedented,” CNN chief Jeff Zucker said in a note to staff. “The first amendment grants the right of all journalists to hold those in power accountable and ask tough questions. It’s what Jim and all of his colleagues who cover the White House and the administration do with integrity and professionalism.”
According to the complaint, CNN head Jeff Zucker privately reached out to different members of the White House press office, and even directly appealed to Chief of Staff John Kelly.
The network warned West Wing officials that if a resolution was not reached, then CNN would file a lawsuit. A White House source with knowledge of the standoff told The Daily Beast that CNN had reached out to Kelly and other senior aides, but declined to go into further detail.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/cnn-tried-to-make-peace-before-suing-trump-over-jim-acosta/ar-BBPFKto?li=BBnb4R7
