CNN warns of court fight over Air Force One pool access

CNN has warned the Justice Department it may return to court if its journalists continue to be excluded from Air Force One while assigned to the presidential travel television pool, The Associated Press and The Washington Post reported Oct. 20. In a letter sent Oct. 19, CNN attorney Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. said CNN had been excluded at least four times while scheduled for pool duty. He alleged the exclusions interfered with CNN’s pool responsibilities and amounted to retaliation and discrimination over its coverage; those are CNN’s allegations, not court findings. The letter requested a response within two days. The warning is not a new Air Force One filing or ruling.

The rotating television pool includes ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC. The Post reported that the other networks decide case by case whether to cover CNN’s assigned turn, so an exclusion can leave another outlet to fill a shared pool shift. The White House separately defended the president’s authority to control access to Air Force One and other secure facilities, saying journalists have no constitutional right to enter them.

Does a separate court order guarantee CNN a seat on Air Force One? No. A preliminary injunction in a separate case in Washington, D.C., preserves CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s hard-pass access to White House grounds while that case proceeds; it does not decide access to the plane. Boutrous warned continued exclusions could lead CNN back to court.