Networks stop TV pool coverage of Donald Trump as banned outlets sue over censorship

Following a decision by President Donald Trump to strip press passes from CNN, MS Now, and Politico, other outlets are refusing to provide pool coverage. The move comes after the White House denied entry and confiscated hard press passes for journalists.

“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President. This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place,” read an email to pool subscribers.

Related: President Donald Trump bans CNN, MS Now, and Politico from White House

Trump announced he would be barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House on Friday and reporters from those outlets have subsequently been denied entry. That has been especially consequential as CNN is part of the White House TV press pool, which also includes ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News. As CNN explained in its own reporting, those outlets rotate in providing coverage of the President in spaces like Air Force One or the Oval Office, then provide a feed to all TV outlets.

But Trump made clear he barred CNN because he disliked their coverage, as well as that on MS Now and POLITICO, including headlines he was alerted to by aide Natalie Harp, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

“There’s something wrong with a country that allows people to write negative news stories. I don’t have to let them into the People's House,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Related: Federal judge restores AP’s full access to White House events in victory for press freedom

But the three outlets barred entry filed a lawsuit asserting he absolutely must let them into the People’s House. CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO released a joint statement stating: “This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes. Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

Related: White House Correspondents' Association president Eugene Daniels blasts decision to block AP journalists

The move toward government control of the press comes amid warnings from international human rights organizations that Trump has pushed the U.S. closer to autocratic rule.

Amnesty International earlier this year spotlighted executive actions and administrative overreach that compromised individual rights, including the killing of protester Renée Good, a queer 37-year-old Minneapolis mother shot and killed by a Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent. Meanwhile, the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice has questioned the political targeting of transgender people by the administration.