ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Fox News and MS NOW issued a joint statement Monday condemning the White House for banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from reporting on the president and from working on White House grounds.

"The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting," the statement said, in a rare show of solidarity among the competing networks.

The statement followed President Donald Trump's announcement on Friday that the three outlets would be barred from covering the White House. CNN, MS NOW and Politico responded by jointly suing the Trump administration.

During a Q&A in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, the president was asked why he was banning the three outlets. He initially said he had "no reason," then cited cumulative stories "over the last two years."

Reporters from the three outlets said over the weekend that security denied them access to the White House grounds. The journalists were told the orders came from above.

The three organizations released a second joint statement on Monday about the lawsuit. "This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes," the statement said.

The statement added that the White House revoked the journalists' credentials without notice or process because it objected to the outlets' reporting.

"Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference," the statement said.

Trump addressed the dispute in a social media post on Monday. He said he cherishes the free press but is "instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS."

The conflict has also disrupted the press pool system. The five broadcast and cable networks indicated they will temporarily stop providing pool coverage of the president after the White House stripped CNN of its pool assignment.

CNN held the designated network slot to cover the president on Monday. The White House relieved the network of those duties.

On Monday's edition of MS NOW's Morning Joe, political correspondent Jonathan Lemire addressed the lawsuit. "Let's be clear: this will not stop the press from doing its job," he told co-host Joe Scarborough. "That will not stop journalists, MS NOW, and the other two outlets doing their job and reporting on the Trump administration and bringing what we learn to our viewers, to the American public. That is the importance of a free press."

Source: Adweek (https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/5-major-networks-release-joint-statement-on-white-house-press-ban/) / Source: x.com (https://x.com/brianstelter/status/2101287238860468697?s=20)