US news outlets say journalists denied access to White House in stark escalation by Trump

News outlets CNN, Politico and MS Now said their journalists were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday morning, a day after Donald Trump said he would ban them from the executive branch complex.

MS Now said a reporter and a cameraman had been denied access and had their White House press passes confiscated by the US Secret Service at a security gate outside the West Wing. CNN reported that its reporter Betsy Klein was also denied access and had her press pass seized too.

“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” MS Now said, adding that it “intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our first amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.