Judge hears arguments without immediate ruling in lawsuit over White House ban on 3 news outlets

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge heard arguments Wednesday but did not rule from the bench in a case on President Donald Trump’s ban of three news outlets from White House grounds.

It marked the latest development in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes. Trump banned the outlets beginning Friday, assailing what he called “fake news.” More recently the president has said negative coverage was dangerous for the country. The outlets argued they were singled out because of the content of their coverage — in other words, viewpoint discrimination and called the ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly — whom Trump nominated in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018 — didn’t immediately rule on the news outlets’ request for a restraining order. It was unclear when he would issue a decision.