The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials Friday over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the blocking of its journalists. “We’ll see them in court,” the White House press secretary said in response.
The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., 10 days after the White House began restricting access to the news agency. It was assigned to U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee.
The AP says its case is about an unconstitutional effort by the White House to control speech — in this case not changing its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” as President Donald Trump did last month with an executive order.
“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 AP said in its lawsuit, which names White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich and press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“This targeted attack on the AP’s editorial independence and ability to gather and report the news strikes at the very core of the First Amendment,” the news agency said. “This court should remedy it immediately.” The Constitution’s First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, speech and religion and bars the government from obstructing any of them.
Leavitt said that she learned about the lawsuit Friday while driving from the White House to an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“I wanted to get the White House counsel on the phone before taking this stage to see what I can and cannot say but, look, we feel we are in the right in this position,” she said. “We’re going to ensure that truth and accuracy is present at that White House every single day.”
Trump directly cited AP’s editorial decision
In stopping the AP from attending press events at the White House and Mar-a-Lago, or flying on Air Force One in the agency’s customary spot, the Trump team directly cited the AP’s decision not to fully follow the president’s renaming.
“We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America,” Trump said Tuesday.
This week, about 40 news organizations signed onto a letter organized by the White House Correspondents Association, urging the White House to reverse its policy against the AP. They included outlets like Fox News Channel and Newsmax, where many of the on-air commentators are Trump supporters.
“We can understand President Trump’s frustration because the media has often been unfair to him, but Newsmax still supports AP’s right, as a private organization, to use the language it wants to use in its reporting,” Newsmax said in a statement. “We fear a future administration may not like something Newsmax writes and seek to ban us.”
While AP journalists have still been allowed on White House grounds, they have been kept out of the “pool” of journalists that cover events in smaller spaces and report back to its readers and other reporters. The AP has been part of White House pools for more than a century.
The lawsuit said the AP had made “several unsuccessful efforts” to persuade the administration that its conduct was unlawful. Julie Pace, AP’s senior vice president and executive editor, traveled to Florida this week to meet with Wiles.
The AP Stylebook is a sticking point
In an email to AP, Wiles said the news organization was targeted because its influential stylebook is used as a standard by many journalists, scholars and students across the country, the lawsuit said. She said the administration was hopeful the name change would be reflected in the AP Stylebook “where American audiences are concerned.”
The Stylebook is used by international audiences, as well as those within the United States. The AP has said that its guidance was offered to promote clarity, and that even though Gulf of Mexico will continue to be used, journalists should also note Trump’s action to change the name.
A Trump executive order to change the name of the United States’ largest mountain back to Mount McKinley from Denali is being recognized by the AP Stylebook. Trump has the authority to do so because the mountain is completely within the country he oversees, AP has said.
Wiles also wrote to the AP that its stylebook’s influence “has been misused, and at times weaponized, to push a divisive and partisan agenda,” according to the lawsuit.
In an Axios story last week, Budowich noted other AP Stylebook entries that have rankled some conservatives. They include the decision to capitalize Black but not white in racial references, guidance on gender-affirming medical care and direction not to use the term “ illegal immigrants.”
In a radio interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Friday, Trump referred to the Associated Press as “radical left lunatics.” He said that “Associated Press is a third-rate outfit with a first-rate name.”
He said “just about everybody” accepted the Gulf of America name change but “AP wants to be cute.” There has been a mixed response from other news organizations: The New York Times and Washington Post are continuing to use Gulf of Mexico, while Fox News has switched to Trump’s choice. Google Maps is using Gulf of America for users in the United States.
