AP sues over White House access restrictions

The Associated Press sued White House officials Friday for restricting the wire service’s access to the Oval Office and Air Force One over its refusal to use “Gulf of America” in its AP Stylebook.

Claiming the restrictions violate the outlet’s First Amendment rights and due process protections under the Fifth Amendment, the lawsuit asks a federal judge to restore the AP’s access to spaces made available to other White House press pool members.

“The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government,” the lawsuit states. “The Constitution does not allow the government to control speech. Allowing such government control and retaliation to stand is a threat to every American’s freedom.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the nation’s capital, names White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich and press secretary Karoline Leavitt as defendants.

The case was randomly assigned to U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of President Trump.

“I really would love to answer this question, but upon driving over here from the White House, I actually learned that I have been sued by the Associated Press,” Leavitt said while appearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference shortly after the lawsuit was filed. “We’ll see them in court.”

“I wanted to get the White House counsel on the phone before taking this stage to see know what I can and cannot say. But look, we feel we are in the right in this position,” Leavitt added.

Trump and the AP have engaged in a brooding conflict over access that began when the president said he was renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

In its influential style guidance issued last month, the AP said it would continue to refer to the body of water “by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.” The guidance is used by news outlets industry-wide.

In a statement shortly after filing, AP said the lawsuit was filed in an effort to "defend our independence from government control in what we can say and report."

"We are taking this action on behalf of all independent global media organizations and people who have the freedom of speech," AP stated.

Trump and top White House officials have repeatedly criticized the wire service in recent days for the decision, refusing pressure from the AP and other media outlets to restore access.

“Now, The Associated Press, as you know, has been very, very wrong on the election, on Trump, and the treatment of Trump, and other things having to do with Trump and Republicans and conservatives,” Trump said while speaking at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida earlier this week.

“And they’re doing us no favors, and I guess I’m not doing them any favors. That’s the way life works,” he continued.

Updated 5:43 p.m.

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