US court asks White House to reinstate press credentials of CNN correspondent
Washington, Nov 16: A federal US court on Friday ordered the White House to immediately reinstate the press credentials of CNN's correspondent Jim Acosta in a ruling seen as a major victory for mediapersons.
The press pass of Acosta, CNN's White House Correspondent, was suspended last week after an altercation he had with President Donald Trump during a news conference. The White House had accused him of placing his hand on an intern. Acosta and the CNN has denied the allegations.
CNN supported Acosta and this week it filed a lawsuit against the White House urging the court to reinstate the press pass of its Chief White House Correspondent.
In his order, US District Judge Timothy Kelly asked the White House to restore the press pass for Acosta that gives him regular access to the White House grounds to cover events and press conferences.
Acosta thanked his colleagues in the press who supported him this week.
"I want to thank the judge for the decision he made today. Let's go back to work," he told reporters outside the US District court.
The White House said it will abide by the court's ruling.
"Today, the court made clear that there is no absolute First Amendment right to access the White House. In response to the court, we will temporarily reinstate the reporter's hard pass," White House Press Secretary Sarah sanders said.
"We will also further develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future. There must be decorum at the White House," Sanders said.
Judge Kelly, who was appointed by the Trump administration, however did not say that if suspension of the hard pass was in violation of the First Amendment.
He said that the due process was not followed in suspension of the press pass.
Representing the administration, the Department of Justice told the court that the president had broad discretion to choose who gets access to the White House. CNN has some 50 reporters with White House press pass.
Judge Kelly in his order noted that the White House deprived Acosta of "due process" when it suspended his press pass. The court case on this issue would continue.
In a statement on the twitter, CNN said: "We look forward to a full resolution in the coming days. Our sincere thanks to all who have supported not just CNN, but a free, strong and independent American press".
The news network was supported by top American news organisations including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Fox news. White House Correspondents Association also supported CNN in the court.
Referring to a 1977 DC Circuit Court ruling, Judge Kelly said the government cannot boot out reporters "arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons" and must follow a clear process to do it.
Once the White House opens to reporters then the due process protections apply to removing any media, he argued.
"Certainly he need not ever call on Mr Acosta again, but... the government must provide Mr Acosta due process," the Judge said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
3 officials of private banks arrested in Gujarat in Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud; 20 held so far
Rajkot (PTI): Three officials of leading private banks were arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the number of those held so far in the case to 20, police said on Monday.
Those arrested were identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said.
Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added.
Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said.
Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from his mobile device, he added.
Dangariya is accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts using fake or misrepresented identities, police said.
He also assisted in structuring documentation, including Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-related papers, to prevent transactions from being flagged as suspicious, they said.
On the other hand, Baldha opened new accounts after verification and certification processes as part of the racket, Gurjar informed.
All the three accused are in police custody, while others are in jail under judicial remand, SP said.
So far, police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the racket with 535 complaints filed on the cyber crime portal.
The total transaction linked to the cyber fraud exceeds Rs 2,500 crore, police said.
The earlier fraud amount was pegged by police at Rs 1,500 crore.
