Despite a court order, White House bars AP from Oval Office event [View all]

https://apnews.com/article/trump-ap-press-freedom-court-gulf-caffd32aa8ec6b04a50b8c5277d7c9cb

Despite a court order, White House bars AP from Oval Office event
By DAVID BAUDER
Updated 9:03 PM CDT, April 14, 2025

Despite a court order, a reporter and photographer from The Associated Press were barred from an Oval Office news conference on Monday with President Donald Trump and his counterpart from El Salvador, Nayib Bukele.

Last week’s federal court decision forbidding the Trump administration from punishing the AP for refusing to rename the Gulf of Mexico was to take effect Monday. The administration is appealing the decision and arguing with the news outlet over whether it needs to change anything until those appeals are exhausted.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit set a Thursday hearing on Trump’s request that any changes be delayed while case is reviewed. The AP is fighting for more access as soon as possible.

Later Monday, two AP photographers were admitted to an event honoring Ohio State’s championship football team on the more spacious South Lawn. A text reporter was turned away.

Since mid-February, AP reporters and photographers have been blocked from attending events in the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump frequently addresses journalists, and on Air Force One. The AP has seen sporadic access elsewhere, and regularly covers White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s briefings. Leavitt is one of three administration officials named in the AP’s lawsuit.

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