The Associated Press sued top White House officials on Friday, accusing them of violating the First and Fifth Amendments by denying A.P. reporters access to press events in retaliation for references to the Gulf of Mexico in its articles.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It named as defendants Taylor Budowich, the White House deputy chief of staff; Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary; and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.
In the complaint, The A.P. said that the White House had ordered it to use certain words in its reporting and that it was suing “to vindicate its rights to the editorial independence guaranteed by the United States Constitution and to prevent the executive branch from coercing journalists to report the news using only government-approved language.”
The lawsuit centers on The A.P.’s decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its articles, rather than the Gulf of America, as the body of water was decreed by President Trump in an executive order on Jan. 20.
The AP must feel they have a God given right to access to the White House.
