Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume spoke out Thursday against the Trump administration over its apparent disregard of a judge’s order restoring press access for MS NOW, CNN and Politico.
Hume weighed in on social media, replying to a post about the outlets being refused access following an early-morning order from Trump-appointed Judge Timothy Kelly.
“The WH has generally avoided defying court orders but appears to have done just that this morning,” Hume said.
Kelly is no stranger to clashes between the Trump administration and the press. He is the same judge who ordered the administration to restore CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials after they were revoked in 2018.
In the current case, Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order. Such orders are issued before a court conducts a more comprehensive review of a case.
In his ruling, Kelly wrote that CNN, MS NOW and Politico are “likely to succeed” in showing that the Trump administration had not given the outlets “adequate due process.”
Despite the order, reporters for the three outlets said their credentials were confiscated Thursday morning.
Among them were MS NOW’s Laura Barrón-López and CNN reporter Betsy Klein, who reported they were blocked when they arrived at the White House grounds just hours after the order was issued.
The dispute stems from an announcement President Donald Trump made Friday, when he declared he was “banning” CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, with more outlets to follow.
In a post on Truth Social, the president did not hold back.
“I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico,” Trump wrote.
The president took particular aim at Politico, describing the outlet as “The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them ‘alive.'”
“Seems like corruption to me!” he added.
Trump said the outlets were being banned “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” the president continued. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
The standoff now pits the White House against a federal judge appointed by Trump himself, who found that the three news organizations are likely to prevail on their claim that they were denied adequate due process.
Hume’s comments stand out given his position as Fox News’ chief political analyst. In his remark, he noted that the White House has generally steered clear of defying court orders, but said it appeared to have done exactly that on Thursday morning.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions from Mediaite about whether the continued restriction of access was intentional.
[READ MORE: Judge Limits Trump’s Control Over White House Press Access, Orders Three Outlets Reinstated]
