TV networks resume pooled coverage of Trump after CNN’s credentials are restored

On September 25, television networks resumed pooled coverage of President Donald Trump after the White House restored CNN’s credentials by court order.

The other networks had refused to take part in the pool — where one network covers the president and shares the video with the others — while CNN’s credentials were suspended for nearly a week.

After the credentials were restored on September 24, CBS pooled Trump as he awaited Chinese President Xi Jinping for tea at the White House, while CNN pooled Trump and Xi at the National Archives viewing the Declaration of Independence.

CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that the White House approved credentials for pool members and that on Friday morning the network appeared on track to fulfill its responsibilities. Attorney Ted Boutrous, who represented CNN, MS NOW and Politico after Trump announced on September 18 that he was banning them from the White House, said the judge’s order restoring CNN’s credentials would also mean a return to the pool.

Trump had banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico over what he claimed was inaccurate reporting endangering national security. Federal judge Timothy Kelly — himself a Trump appointee — ordered the White House to temporarily restore the credentials while the case is litigated; Trump said he will appeal.

The September 24 return of the credentials came with hiccups: the White House said it began processing the order that morning and the badges were ready at the Secret Service at 9:55, but journalists entered the grounds around noon, as USA Today reports.