A day after CNN announced that it was filing a lawsuit against members of the Trump administration for revoking correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials, Fox News is siding with the rival network.
Fox News announced Wednesday that it stands behind CNN’s efforts to restore Acosta’s White House press credentials, noting that it intends to file an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court in support of CNN’s suit.
“Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponized,” said Fox News President Jay Wallace in a statement. “While we don’t condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the president and the press at recent media avails, we do support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people.”
The White House, meanwhile, has rejected CNN’s suit. On Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a response saying that the White House has discretion to “regulate access to the White House for journalists,” and argued that “no journalist has a First Amendment right to enter the White House.”
Members of the White House press corps have condemned the White House’s move, acknowledging that the threat of losing one’s White House press credentials could expand beyond Acosta. But Fox’s decision to support CNN’s lawsuit is noteworthy, as the network has often been critical of CNN and Acosta specifically.
Nevertheless, this is not the first time in recent months that Fox has publicly sided with CNN in an altercation with the president. In July, Fox released a statement that it stood in “strong solidarity with CNN” after a CNN reporter was barred from an event open to all press in the Rose Garden.
A number of other media outlets plan to join the amicus brief, including NBC News, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, Gannett, the New York Times, Politico, USA Today, and the Washington Post.