This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A federal judge on Tuesday took the battle over the Gulf of America to a new level, ordering the White House to restore Associated Press access to the Oval Office and other spaces after President Donald Trump banned the news agency's reporters for their continued use of the Gulf of Mexico name instead of its new moniker, the Gulf of America.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, ordered access for the AP into the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces when available to other members of the media pool.
"Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists – be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere – it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints," McFadden wrote.
"The Constitution requires no less."
However, the judge made it clear that AP is not getting "permanent access."
"The Court does not order the government to grant the AP permanent access to the Oval Office, the East Room or any other media event," he wrote.
"It does not bestow special treatment upon the AP. Indeed, the AP is not necessarily entitled to the 'first in line every time' permanent press pool access it enjoyed under the (White House Correspondents Association). But it cannot be treated worse than its peer wire service either."
"This injunction does not limit the various permissible reasons the Government may have for excluding journalists from limited-access events," McFadden added.
"It does not mandate that all eligible journalists, or indeed any journalists at all, be given access to the President or nonpublic government spaces.
"It does not prohibit government officials from freely choosing which journalists to sit down with for interviews or which ones' questions they answer. And it certainly does not prevent senior officials from publicly expressing their own views."
AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton responded to the ruling, saying: "We are gratified by the court's decision."
"Today's ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation. This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the U.S. Constitution."
The White House has not yet responded to the decision.
"For anyone who thinks the Associated Press' lawsuit against President Trump's White House is about the name of a body of water, think bigger," Julie Pace, the AP's executive editor, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
"It's really about whether the government can control what you say."
Trump has previously called the AP a group of "radical left lunatics" and said that "we're going to keep them out until such time as they agree it's the Gulf of America."
