After a contentious news conference last week, the White House stripped CNN’s Jim Acosta of his press credentials. The unprecedented nature of the situation led many to wonder if Acosta would take legal action.
Today, Acosta, along with CNN, did just that, filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. In addition to Trump, the suit also names Bill Shine, John Kelly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Randolph Alles.
The situation began during a press conference where Trump refused to answer Acosta’s questions. He then told the reporter, “I tell you what, CNN should be ashamed of themselves having you working for them. You are rude, terrible person. You should not be working for CNN.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused Acosta of attacking an intern that tried to take the microphone from him. Sanders, on her personal Twitter feed, posted a seemingly doctored video to make the incident seem worse than it was.
The lawsuit claims, “The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process.”
BREAKING: CNN says it is suing President Trump and top Trump aides, alleging they have violated CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press and Fifth Amendment rights to due process; requests court grant immediate return of Acosta’s press pass. pic.twitter.com/oyEQygb9Tq
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 13, 2018
The suit also challenges Trump’s reasoning for pulling Acosta’s credentials and whether he has the power to do so. Initially, Trump claimed the credentials were pulled for “a lack of respect” shown to the White House.
Acosta has received support from all over the political spectrum. Chuck Ross from the Conservative Daily Caller said, “Plenty to criticize Acosta about. But he did not ‘place his hands’ on the intern. It’s ridiculous for anyone to suggest he did.”
Acosta has also received support from the White House Correspondents Association who says it “strongly supports’ CNN’s effort to have Jim Acosta’s revoked press pass returned, adding that “the president of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him.”