A federal judge questioned the Trump administration’s decision to revoke White House access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico during a Wednesday hearing. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly did not issue an immediate ruling on the outlets’ request to restore their press credentials. Judge Timothy Kelly focused on whether the administration gave the news organizations proper notice and a chance to respond before barring them. Earlier decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit established those protections for journalists facing the loss of White House access. The Due Process Question Is Doing the Heavy Lifting Kelly said the due process issue should be addressed before the court reaches the outlets’ broader First Amendment claims. “Before we get to any core First Amendment issues,” Kelly said, due process appeared to be “the first stop” in resolving the request. The news organizations sued the Trump administration on Monday, arguing that the access ban violated both their constitutional speech rights and their right to fair process. Attorney Theodore Boutrous said the outlets were punished without advance notice or an opportunity to challenge the decision, while the Justice Department argued that White House access is a privilege rather than a guaranteed right. Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik said letters sent to the outlets on Tuesday explained why their passes were revoked, citing national security concerns tied to their reporting. Kelly questioned that defense because the letters arrived after the outlets had already lost access and filed suit, leaving the administration’s process looking less like a warning and more like paperwork after the fact.