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'UNDEMOCRATIC' and 'SHOCKING' Legal expert SHREDS Trump's press ban as outlets file lawsuit · DEEP INSIGHT

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Three news organizations banned by the Trump White House over
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: the weekend are taking legal action against the administration. A
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  Speaker 1: joint statement from MSNOW, CNN, and Politico reads this way.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: This morning, we notified the government that we are filing
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  Speaker 1: a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and
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  Speaker 1: defend the principle that the government does not decide what
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  Speaker 1: the press reports or publishes. Without notice or process, the
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  Speaker 1: White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to
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  Speaker 1: our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the
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  Speaker 1: public's right to independent journalism free from government interference. Reporters
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  Speaker 1: from the outlets were denied entry to the White House
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday and stripped of their credentials. Let's bring in
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  Speaker 1: former U.S. attorney and MSNOW legal analyst Joyce Vance. And
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  Speaker 1: MSNOW senior White House reporter Vaughn Hilliard, who joins us
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  Speaker 1: live from just outside the White House because he's not
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  Speaker 1: permitted through the security perimeter because his hard pass was
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  Speaker 1: taken away. Vaughn, starting with you, there are some who
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  Speaker 1: might be tempted to write this off as like, oh,
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  Speaker 1: it's a media story. You know, the reporters are being self-indulgent,
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  Speaker 1: like who really cares? about the latest between the president
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  Speaker 1: and the beltway press that's not what this is this
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  Speaker 1: is something far more serious it is a first amendment
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  Speaker 1: concern so talk to us about what is happening to
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  Speaker 1: the reporters at ms now but as well as cnn
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  Speaker 1: and politico we're still doing our jobs but talk to
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  Speaker 1: us what is the latest there in the rumblings that
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  Speaker 1: trump may be trying to kick other outlets out soon.
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  Speaker 2: Right, John, this is about the constitutional infringement on media
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  Speaker 2: organizations and the ability of the executive branch to decide
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  Speaker 2: who is able to question the president, cabinet officials and
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  Speaker 2: other administration officials here. That is what is at stake.
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  Speaker 2: And there are immediate implications we should be very clear about.
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  Speaker 2: This is not about smelling the grass out on the
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  Speaker 2: White House North Lawn. This is about the ability of
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  Speaker 2: news organizations to enter the secure perimeter of To be
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  Speaker 2: able to ask people like John Solomon about election fraud claims,
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  Speaker 2: the agriculture secretary about tariff implications, Stephen Miller about the
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  Speaker 2: National Guard's continued presence across Washington, D.C., to ask other
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  Speaker 2: officials these questions in real time. And instead, what you
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  Speaker 2: have is the president attempting to hand select who can
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  Speaker 2: and cannot vote. have access to him and his administration officials. Today,
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  Speaker 2: for instance, the president is set to head to New
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  Speaker 2: York City for the United Nations General Assembly. CNN is
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  Speaker 2: the individual entity that was the pool representative today, meaning
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  Speaker 2: that they were going to be the ones to send
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  Speaker 2: a reporter, producer, and a video camera in that would
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  Speaker 2: be shared with all other news organizations. Because CNN has
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  Speaker 2: been barred by the White House, that will not take place. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: there will be only one TV camera inside of these
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  Speaker 2: rooms with the president as he meets with other foreign dignitaries.
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  Speaker 2: That one outlet is Real America's Voice, which folks may
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  Speaker 2: know as the MAGA-promoting outlet where C. Bannon's show is
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  Speaker 2: aired on a daily basis. And so there will be
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  Speaker 2: no footage of the president in these high stakes meetings.
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  Speaker 2: But even more so, there will be no reporter from
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  Speaker 2: CNN on behalf of all of our news organizations there
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  Speaker 2: to ask those questions. Those are the immediate stakes. But
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  Speaker 2: of course, John, as you know, this is not about CNN,
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  Speaker 2: Politico and MSNOW. It's also about the precedent that is
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  Speaker 2: set for news organizations three years from now, 50 years
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  Speaker 2: from now, 100 years from now, and the extent to
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  Speaker 2: which they are constitutionally protected to ask questions of the
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  Speaker 2: executive branch.
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  Speaker 1: We will keep doing our jobs. But this is a
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  Speaker 1: serious concern. And that's now senior White House reporter Vaughn Hilliard. Vaughn,
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  Speaker 1: thank you so much. And Joyce, you wrote a piece
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  Speaker 1: about this situation, noting, look, you know, this is the lawsuit.
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  Speaker 1: Trump will lose these lawsuits. He's lost others along these grounds.
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  Speaker 1: But this is about something far, far bigger. This is
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  Speaker 1: about the first amendment.
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  Speaker 3: It really is.
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  Speaker 4: Put simply, Jonathan, this is a case about whether the
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  Speaker 4: press can criticize the president and criticize his administration. The
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  Speaker 4: Constitution very clearly says yes. The White House has said no.
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  Speaker 4: And the courts will inevitably say that the journalists among
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  Speaker 4: us can do their jobs, that we're entitled to a
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  Speaker 4: free press presidency. But the issue is whether this will
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  Speaker 4: have some collusive force, whether other people in the press
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  Speaker 4: will feel intimidated, will try to pull their punches in
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  Speaker 4: order to maintain their access. And so it's an important moment.
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  Speaker 4: It's great that the three news entities have banded together
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  Speaker 4: to file this lawsuit quickly.
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  Speaker 1: So, Joyce, I mean, let's speak on that. This is
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  Speaker 1: the kind of behavior that is we are forced. associate
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  Speaker 1: with other countries, with authoritarian leaders, not a democracy, not
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  Speaker 1: these United States.
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  Speaker 4: It's incredibly undemocratic, and it's shocking in many ways. I
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  Speaker 4: think we've lost our capacity to let this administration shock us,
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  Speaker 4: but it's a blatant violation, both of the Fifth Amendment's
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  Speaker 4: due process guarantees and of the First Amendment, which prohibits
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  Speaker 4: viewpoint discrimination and retaliation against journalists for expressing a point
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  Speaker 4: of view. The administration is very comfortable, nonetheless, with going
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  Speaker 4: on the attack against journalists. That's what we need to
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  Speaker 4: pay attention to here. The attack, the effort in advance
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  Speaker 4: of the midterm elections to silence the free press.
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  Speaker 1: That attack continues this morning. Trump on Truth Social calling
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  Speaker 1: the press a threat to national security.
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  Speaker 2: No, sir.
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  Speaker 1: It's a we're a vital part of this democracy. Former U.S. attorney,
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  Speaker 1: MSNL legal analyst Joyce Vance. Joyce, thank you so much.
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  Speaker 1: We'll read from that new piece on the matter on Substack.
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  Speaker 3: Hey, it's me, Rachel Maddow. If you like the story
• 6:00
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• 6:32
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