CNN’s Mark Thompson vows to fight White House press restrictions “to the end” after judge blocks ban as likely unconstitutional.
CNN Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Mark Thompson said Wednesday the network will resist President Donald Trump’s efforts to limit its access to the White House “to the end,” following a federal judge’s finding that the administration’s ban on the network and two other outlets likely violated the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday blocking the White House from reinstating its ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico while their lawsuit continues. Kelly determined the outlets are likely to succeed on their First Amendment and due process claims. The White House said Wednesday it plans to appeal.
Speaking on CNN, Thompson called the ruling a “really big boost” and “a vote of confidence in free speech and our right, not really so much for ourselves but on behalf of the public everywhere.”
CNN chair Mark Thompson: "This topic is one we're never going to back down from. And no matter how many court cases, investigations, court appearances and all the expense that that entails, we will fight this one to the end." https://t.co/qaJmYKqWmy
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 14, 2026
Thompson also addressed a Justice Department antitrust investigation into CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC over their coordinated suspension of certain White House press pool coverage. The DOJ is examining whether the networks violated antitrust laws through a collective boycott. “We’re going to cooperate with it, try and understand it,” Thompson said, while emphasizing the need to remain “ever vigilant and always prepared to fight.”
He cited a 2009 episode in which the Obama administration sought to exclude Fox News from interviews with a Treasury official. Other networks backed Fox at the time, which Thompson described as an example of news organizations standing together. “We support each other because we know that this can be something which happens with governments of the left, governments of the right, governments of the center,” he said.
Thompson warned that governments risk undermining fundamental rights when they lose patience with critical coverage.