UPDATE: CNN, Politico say their journalists were also barred from White House

NEW YORK (AP) — Journalists from two other major news outlets have said publicly that they were denied access to the White House on Saturday.

Betsy Klein of CNN and Cheyenne Haslett of Politico reported that their press badges were confiscated and they were turned away when they showed up at the White House to do their jobs.

Akayla Gardner of MS NOW —formerly MSNBC – reported earlier that she and other colleagues were turned away from the White House and their press badges deactivated.

The actions come a day after United States President Donald Trump said he would ban all three entities because of reporting he found to be “fake news.”

They also mark a clear escalation of Trump’s long-running efforts — in the courts and through administrative action — to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable.

All three news outlets hinted at legal action, which could trigger a fresh round of tests for First Amendment protections in the United States.

“We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights,” Politico Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger said in a statement to the Politico newsroom.

A CNN statement said the network “will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account.”

And MS NOW said 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.”

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