Associated Press asks court to restore its special access to Trump’s White House

The Associated Press fought an uphill battle in court Monday to try to regain its special access to the Oval Office, arguing that President Trump broke the news wire service’s speech rights by demoting it to the same status as dozens of other media organizations.

The AP’s lawyer argued to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that Mr. Trump illegally retaliated against the storied news organization when he demoted it from its regular access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, after the AP refused to adopt the government’s new Gulf of America designation.

But two members of the three-judge panel signaled to the AP that Mr. Trump is likely within his rights to decide who gets access to his own office and his own airplane.

The case raised novel legal questions about the purpose of various White House rooms, the systems that have evolved over the years to let the press have access, and a president’s prerogative to change that up.

“The First Amendment does not stop at the Oval Office door,” Charles Tobin, the AP’s lawyer, told the judges.

He said the White House is divided into some spaces where Mr. Trump has control, such as the residence, and other locations where, once he allows the press in, he cannot select individuals. That applies to the press “pool,” which is the rotating group of reporters assigned on any day to cover public presidential events.

“If it’s a pool event then the president cannot pick and choose people,” Mr. Tobin said.

But Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, Trump appointees to the circuit court, said that sounded like a matter of semantics and labels.

“They just designate the event as a non-press pool event,” Judge Katsas said. “The press pool is just a mechanism for allocating space in the Oval, or Air Force One.”

“If that’s AP’s primary argument then I don’t see how it gets you where you want to go,” Judge Rao added.

The AP did have one defender in Judge Robert Wilkins, an Obama appointee who wondered if Mr. Trump can deny a news organization access to himself in the Oval Office, whether he could also block a family from taking the public tour because he didn’t like their social media posts.

“Woe to the public,” the judge said.

The AP used to enjoy premier access to the White House, with a guaranteed spot in the press pool for its reporter and usually a photographer. That changed after the wire service refused to adjust to the new Gulf of America designation.

The AP said because it has international news clients, it would stick with the Gulf of Mexico, a term that’s been used for more than 400 years.

In response, the White House adjusted the press pool, ousting the AP, but leaving other wire services with their special access.

After an initial round of legal skirmishes, the White House decided to treat all of the wire service reporters similarly to newspaper reporters from outlets such as The Washington Times, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. That means their reporters are part of a rotation for access to presidential events.

The rotation of photographers is much smaller, and the AP has had more consistent access on that front.

A district judge had initially sided with the AP, finding the White House went too far. A different panel of the circuit court largely blocked the district judge’s ruling, so Mr. Trump remains largely unfettered in his decisions about press access right now.

Monday’s argument was a more fulsome look at the issues.

One issue that quickly emerged is that different parts of the White House have different rules.

The Brady Press Briefing Room, where regular briefings are conducted, is subject to higher press protections. The Oval Office is more personal space to the president, and he has more sway there.

The East Room stands somewhere in between, depending on what sort of event the White House is hosting.

Judge Rao repeatedly wondered if any injunction in the case could work. She pointed out that courts are generally reluctant to issue orders directly barring a president from taking actions, believing that would be a violation of the separation of powers.

So Judge Rao suggested Mr. Trump himself could likely enforce his own AP ban by personally blocking the news outlet’s journalists from his plane or office.