CNN threatened further legal action Monday over its exclusion from Air Force One. Outside counsel Ted Boutrous made the threat in a demand letter to the Justice Department.
Boutrous called the exclusions retaliation based on CNN's news coverage.
CNN was dropped from last weekend's travel pool to Georgia and Florida.
Other major networks have declined to fill CNN's pool slot.
The White House gave no written notice or explanation, the letter says.
Why it matters: The dispute grows out of Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico a month ago. U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly then issued a preliminary injunction against the ban.
Kelly found the ban likely amounted to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
4 briefing-room appearances versus 51 Air Force One sessions this year, CNN's letter says.
CNN Warns Trump Over Air Force One Access BanYou are hereLatest
How 7 sources split on this story
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7 sources · 8 articles · 86% Left coverage
Where they split: The dispute is whether restricted spaces like Air Force One are open to First Amendment claims of equal access. The White House says no journalist has a right to them. CNN says those spaces belong to the public.
Left coverage, 6 sources: The left sees the Air Force One exclusion as the White House working around a court order to punish a news outlet for its coverage.
What’s next: CNN wants written confirmation by Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern that the policy is abandoned.
The administration appears to be relying on its pending case with The Associated Press.
In June 2025, an appeals panel said such spaces are not First Amendment forums. Boutrous notes that ruling was nonbinding, and the full court has not ruled.
Will the White House respond to CNN's demand before the Thursday deadline?
How will the full appeals court rule in the AP case, and will that ruling control CNN's claim?
