Donald Trump and his administration defended the White House decision to bar CNN, Politico, and MS NOW in a court filing submitted late Tuesday. The filing came one day before U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly was scheduled to hear arguments over whether the outlets should regain access. The administration asked Judge Kelly to reject the media companies' request for a temporary restraining order. Government attorneys argued that White House access is a privilege, claimed the ban was not retaliation for critical coverage, and said the outlets had received enough notice and legal process to challenge the decision. The White House Is Taking This Fight to Court CNN, Politico, and MS NOW sued Trump and his administration on Monday after their journalists lost White House credentials. In a joint statement, the outlets said the administration had punished reporting it disliked and warned that allowing the decision to stand could threaten press freedom and the public's access to independent journalism. Trump announced the ban on Truth Social the previous Friday, accusing the outlets of publishing what he called false coverage about his administration and the country. The lawsuit asks the D.C. District Court to block the ban, while the administration's latest filing asks the judge to leave the access restrictions in place.