'If he misbehaves, we'll throw him out'
The White House agreed Friday to allow CNN reporter Jim Acosta back in after a judge ruled that the star journalist was improperly banned following a testy exchange at a press conference with President Donald Trump.
Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said "in response to the court, we will temporarily reinstate the reporter's hard pass."
But she left open the possibility of seeking to remove Acosta's access later and said new rules would be imposed "to ensure fair and orderly press conferences."
Trump said that "rules and regulations" were being drafted to govern such gatherings, where the president or his representatives often accuse journalists -- Acosta in particular -- of being overly hostile.
"We have to practice decorum. We want total freedom of the press," Trump told reporters, adding later in an interview with Fox News: "If he misbehaves, we'll throw him out."
Trump routinely describes journalists he does not approve of, and the media in general, as "enemies of the people."
On November 7, the day he was stripped of his pass, Acosta had riled Trump by refusing to give up the microphone at a news conference when he considered that Trump was evading his question. Trump responded by branding Acosta a "rude, terrible person."
CNN cast the controversy as a question of free speech, which is protected under the constitution's first amendment. In his ruling Friday, Judge Timothy Kelly stressed that he had only found the procedure for expelling Acosta illegal and that free speech did not enter the equation.
However, major media outlets took up Acosta's cause. Tellingly, Trump's most friendly outlet, Fox News, joined the suit calling for Acosta's pass to be returned.
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