Behind latest Trump tumult, a familiar pattern

The latest Trump administration attempt to ignore constitutional governing ended Thursday when it complied with a federal court ruling and reinstated the credentials of three news organizations banned from the White House because the president did not like their coverage, which he called "FAKE NEWS" and "LIES."

It was a win for the First Amendment-protected rights of the press to provide essential information about the workings of their government without fear of retaliation.

In the early morning hours Thursday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom President Donald Trump appointed, ordered the immediate reinstatement of journalists for CNN, Politico and MS NOW, who had been barred for five days. Compliance with the order was delayed for hours, prompting the news organizations to return to court and for the judge to demand an explanation. Then minutes before a noon Oval Office meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that Trump wanted covered, the ban was dropped. TV networks had suspended pool coverage of such events and other news outlets stopped publishing or distributing photos provided by the pool.

A friend of the court brief supporting the three news outlets was filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the White House Correspondents' Association and most of the major news organizations, including Newsday, who hold White House credentials and participate in the rotating coverage pools.

The judge's ruling was narrow and straightforward, accepting arguments that the snap decision to withdraw the credentials was made without notice or the ability to appeal it. Kelly also was skeptical of White House efforts to justify their actions based on national security. The administration claimed Politico violated professional standards by publishing anonymous quotes about Iran attributed to a senior administration official. It turned out, however, that the official was Vice President JD Vance, who held a call with some of the outlets under White House ground rules that he be quoted only as a "senior administration official," a long-standing practice of many administrations.

The pattern is broad and familiar. Last year The Associated Press had to go to court after the White House denied it access in retaliation for refusing to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

It is clear that the White House's attempt to punish the press is an effort to get more flattering coverage as Trump's popularity sinks before the important midterm elections.

The revoking of press credentials is the same as canceling $7.5 billion in clean energy grants based on whether a state voted for Trump, the demolition of the East Wing to build a grand ballroom before anyone could review the plans, and deporting those suspected of violating immigration law before a hearing. These are actions taken on a whim or in deliberate defiance of law or norms, and then after a court loss, slow-walking compliance with a judge's orders. On issues both petty and consequential, this administration continues to flout norms and laws that would constrain what the president wants to do.

That's not fake news.