There’s good news and bad news for Donald Trump and his attempt at what even he calls a “ban on the free press.”
The good news is that the case has been assigned to Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly.
The bad news? That’s the same Trump-appointed judge who ruled in 2018 that his ban of Jim Acosta from the White House violated the 5th Amendment.
As Acosta recalled on MS NOW this weekend, he got his press pass back and was aboard Air Force One when Trump was flown back to Florida on January 20, 2021 in disgrace.
The complaint lays out a fairly open-and-shut case in the opening paragraph — using Trump’s own words as the rope:
On Friday, September 18, 2026, President Donald J. Trump announced that he was “banning” journalists with three news organizations—CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO—from the White House “effective immediately” for one simple reason: He dislikes the content of their coverage of him and his administration.
The President was expressly clear about his viewpoint- discriminatory motive for targeting CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO. He called it the “result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”—a term he routinely applies not to reporting that is false, but to any reporting he dislikes.
He then threatened there would be “[o]ther Fake News Media Outlets to follow.” In an Oval Office press conference later that day, the President doubled down. He was clear there was no particular story that triggered this decision—saying “it’s really just cumulative stories over the last two years”—and equally clear that the ban was motivated by his disdain for reporting he considers “one-sided” and “never good” because it “diminish[es]” him and his accomplishments.
The President repeated his straightforward rationale for targeting these three news organizations, calling it “wrong” to “allow people to write purposely negative stories.” The President complained about coverage he considers “one-sided” and “never good,” and at one point even referred to his own unprecedented act as the “ban on the free press.”
Acosta, meanwhile, pointed out on The Don Lemon Show that attempts to appease Trump — like the hiring of Scott Jennings — only emboldened Trump and led to this moment.
As for Jennings, Acosta didn’t hold back.
Don Lemon: Thank you for joining us. I hate to tell them, but we told you so. I mean, we did. We told them.
I want to feel bad for them, but it’s kind of of their own making, and I don’t think that this should happen, but I—hey.
Jim Acosta: Yeah, I mean, you hire Scott Jennings, you put him on the payroll, you make him basically a paid Trump spokesman, and you still get banned. I mean, that’s part of the problem here. Appeasement does not work. It does not work.
Don, you and I know this. You have to stand tough against this guy, and we’re starting to see a little bit of it. I’m glad that they’re filing these lawsuits. I’m glad that they’re pulling the TV pool.
I’m a little mystified as to why other news organizations are still sending in their teams and crews over to the White House. He’s banned three networks. I mean, he’s banned three news organizations—two networks and Politico. It took me aback.
…The Scott Jennings thing, I got to a point where I just didn’t want to have him on my show anymore. And I don’t know what kind of signal that was sent when I said that, but I made it clear that I didn’t want to have him on my show anymore. I thought he was full of shit.
And this was somebody that torched Trump after January 6th and rightly said he was responsible for what happened on January 6th, and then he was carrying his water. And I’m thinking to myself, well, what’s this all about?
I think the news should be the news, Don
…And people can figure this stuff out when they see ABC and CBS paying these bribes, when they see PBS and NPR being defunded, when they see what’s happening at CNN. Seeing Scott Jennings on CNN makes people want to throw up. Why would you do that?
The only reason why you would have Scott Jennings on is to send a signal to the administration that, hey, we’re going to do what you want here in order for us to get what we want. And that is just totally dishonest, I think.
And I hate to say it—I don’t want to talk bad about my former place when they’re going through what they’re going through right now—but people need to understand that certain events led us to this point.
You can see the full complaint below.
I'm enjoying the hell out of that smile on Jim's face💙
Judges are supposed to rule on what the Constitution and law shows is right. Really shouldn't matter who appointed them. We need a free press and it is guaranteed by the first Amendments