The see-saw that is the relationship between the President Trump’s White House and CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta took a dip in the other direction over the weekend.
CNN’s Brian Stelter reported on Sunday that once the temporary restraining order that forces the White House to allow Acosta to cover the president expires, they will once again revoke Acosta’s press pass.
According to Stelter:
After CNN won a temporary restraining order on Friday, forcing the White House to restore his press pass for 14 days, White House officials sent Acosta a letter stating that his pass is set to be suspended again once the restraining order expires.
From the looks of the letter, the W.H. is trying to establish a paper trail that will empower the administration to boot Acosta again at the end of the month.
CNN responded with this statement on Sunday: "The White House is continuing to violate the First and 5th Amendments of the Constitution. These actions threaten all journalists and news organizations. Jim Acosta and CNN will continue to report the news about the White House and the President."
The news of Acosta's impending re-revocation of his press pass comes just days after Trump's response to the restraining order.
"It’s not a big deal and if he misbehaves, we’ll throw him out or we’ll stop the news conference," Trump told Fox News' Chris Wallace.
In response, CNN issued a statement fully backing up Acosta and accuses the White House of violating the U.S. Constitution.
“The White House is continuing to violate the First and 5th Amendments of the Constitution," CNN’s statement read. "These actions threaten all journalists and news organizations. Jim Acosta and CNN will continue to report the news about the White House and the President.”
CNN has also reportedly asked the U.S. District Court for “another emergency hearing.” The hearing “would give the network the chance to win a preliminary injunction, a longer form of court-ordered protection to Acosta’s press pass.
Maybe the White House will have a change of heart, depending on Acosta’s behavior once he re-enters the White House press pool. Then again, it is Jim Acosta, so maybe not.