Last week, eyebrows were raised when President Donald Trump launched into a fiery exchange with Jim Acosta during a press conference which culminated in Trump branding Acosta “a rude, terrible person” and having his press pass revoked.
Now CNN is fighting back via a lawsuit against “President Trump and several of his aides, seeking the immediate restoration of chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s access to the White House.” The suit aims to restore Acosta’s press credentials.
CNN president Jeff Zucker wrote in an internal email that, “this is not a step we have taken lightly. But the White House action is unprecedented.”
CNN spoke with a few legal experts who said they liked the network’s chances. “I think it’s a really strong lawsuit,” First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams told CNN on Sunday. “I think [CNN] should sue, and if it’s not about Acosta, this is going to happen again…So whether it’s CNN suing or the next company suing, someone’s going to have to bring a lawsuit, and whoever does is going to win” unless the defendants can prove Acosta was dangerous. Given the heavy criticism for Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ posting of manipulated footage that appeared to make Acosta’s removal look more violent than it actually was, that seems unlikely.
