U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the Trump White House to restore access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico after the outlets sued, the AP reported, a move Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe discussed on MS NOW.
The judge’s order required the White House to “immediately return, reinstate and restore” the outlets’ access and granted a temporary reprieve while the lawsuit proceeds, AP said; Kelly said the reporters should regain access for at least 14 days. The ORIGINAL_KEYWORD appeared on MS NOW when Tribe joined Lawrence O’Donnell to react to the ruling and the administration’s actions.
Tribe appears in the MS NOW segment titled “HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT,” responding to the judge’s order and the White House’s earlier decision to block the three outlets. MS NOW published the video of Tribe’s interview on September 24, 2026, showing him addressing the legal and constitutional stakes of the dispute.
News outlets including NBC News and NPR reported that Judge Kelly found the outlets were likely to succeed on their procedural claims and that the court temporarily reinstated their hard-pass access. NBC described the ruling as a temporary restraining order that required the administration to restore the outlets’ White House access for at least two weeks.
The case centers on whether the White House followed adequate due process before revoking or denying press credentials, and Kelly’s temporary order pauses that policy while the court evaluates the full lawsuit, AP reported. Laurence Tribe and other commentators framed the judge’s step as a check on executive power during the ongoing legal fight.
Tribe used the MS NOW appearance to argue the significance of restoring access and to critique the administration’s approach; MS NOW and Yahoo published short clips and summaries of his remarks after the judge’s decision became public on September 24.
Sources
- AP News — reported Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to restore access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico and that access would be reinstated for at least 14 days.
- MS NOW — published the video segment in which Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe reacts to the White House blocking reporters and to the judge’s order.
- NBC News — reported on the temporary restraining order and described Kelly’s instructions to reinstate media access while the lawsuit proceeds.
- Yahoo — ran a video summary headlined “HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT” noting Tribe’s appearance reacting to the judge’s decision.
