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Judge Orders White House Restore CNN Access After TV Exclusions

By Drooid · Oct 5, 2026, 3:05 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

White House Excludes CNN

A federal judge issued a restraining order forcing the White House to restore CNN, MS NOW, and Politico access.
Despite the order, the White House excluded CNN from the TV pool for a Texas-Oklahoma trip on Thursday.
Public Citizen filed complaints with the FCC and FTC demanding removal of taxpayer-funded President Donald Trump ads from broadcast.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr declined to investigate, calling the ads “public service announcements.”

Summary

Trump Misuses DHS Funds

U.S. President Donald Trump used $20 million DHS funds to produce self-glorifying TV ads.
On August 7, President Trump told aide Natalie Harp to show footage of him from an Oval Office meeting.
The ads, called “public service announcements,” aired early September in Washington, D.C., then nationwide, with a “Love me” anti-communist slogan.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin warned the ads could constitute felony theft of government property.

History

Historical Context

Watergate’s 1972 break-in and Nixon’s 1974 resignation spurred Congress to pass the 1978 Ethics in Government Act, creating the Office of Government Ethics to police misuse of federal funds. Those safeguards now frame Public Citizen and Rep. Jamie Raskin’s lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s $20 million DHS advertising campaign and the judge’s order restoring CNN, MS NOW and Politico access.

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White House Excludes CNN

A federal judge issued a restraining order forcing the White House to restore CNN, MS NOW, and Politico access.
Despite the order, the White House excluded CNN from the TV pool for a Texas-Oklahoma trip on Thursday.
Public Citizen filed complaints with the FCC and FTC demanding removal of taxpayer-funded President Donald Trump ads from broadcast.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr declined to investigate, calling the ads “public service announcements.”

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