CNN says a ban would be "an illegal assault" on its constitutionally protected right to report
CNNNews network, in a statement posted by CNN Communications and reported in its own story
In a statement issued Friday, CNN said it stands behind its White House team and has a right under the Constitution to report without interference from the government, and that if the ban Trump threatened goes ahead it would be an illegal assault on that constitutionally protected right.
“Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.”
Original post
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should President Trump bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage?
On Friday, September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that, "effective immediately, I am banning" CNN, MS NOW and Politico "from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!" About an hour later, in the Oval Office, he said no particular story prompted the decision, that he does not want the outlets "in my office," and that "somebody has a right to keep them away" if outlets write false stories. The three outlets and press-freedom groups oppose the exclusion, citing constitutional protection for the press, and the White House Correspondents' Association said it "stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MSNOW, and POLITICO." On Saturday, September 19, MS NOW, CNN and Politico said their White House reporters were refused entry and had press passes confiscated; the White House referred questions to Trump's earlier remarks. The dispute is over whether President Trump should exclude named news organizations from White House access over what they report.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post from CNN's communications account introducing the statement, which is attached as an image with no alt text; the wording used here is taken from CNN's own story of the same day. Created 20:31:14 UTC on September 18, 2026.
Reporting
About this source
CNN Business story first published 3:40 PM EDT on September 18, 2026 and last modified 10:12 PM EDT. CNN is one of the three outlets, so its account of its own staff is an outlet's account.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
MS NOW's own news story, published at 11:15 AM EDT and last modified at 1:06 PM EDT Saturday (edits between 11:37 AM and 1:06 PM EDT changed only sidebar items). The page was rewritten during the day: the page title still reads 'MS NOW journalists denied entry to White House on day after Trump bans them in First Amendment test' while the current headline names all three outlets. MS NOW is a party; the story carries its spokesperson statement. The story calls the second MS NOW staff member a cameraman, where CNN and AP call the person a photographer.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
CNN issued the statement at about 4:31 PM EDT on September 18, after Trump's post and after his Oval Office event had begun. CNN described the ban as one Trump "threatened", and its reporters were still working at the White House that evening.
After the quotation
On September 19, after MS NOW journalists were denied entry, CNN said in a further statement that it would keep covering the government "regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House".
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
CNN rejects the announced exclusion, calling it, if carried out, an illegal assault on a constitutional right. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”, because the sentence begins "Should the ban ... go ahead". That loses because the condition concerns implementation of the announcement; CNN states no support for the act under any condition.
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- CNN says a ban would be "an illegal assault" on its constitutionally protected right to report
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/1142-in-a-statement-issued-friday-cnn-said-it
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "CNN says a ban would be "an illegal assault" on its constitutionally protected right to report". First published: 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1142-in-a-statement-issued-friday-cnn-said-it