Associated Press, Trump White House return to court amid Gulf of America dispute

The Associated Press and Trump administration returned to court on Monday for a critical hearing in the ongoing First Amendment battle over the news-gathering organization refusing to rename the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America and its ensuing loss of access to critical White House coverage areas Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on his first day in office for a second term But the Associated Press decided to continue to refer to the body of water by its original name while acknowledging the new moniker chosen by Trump The decision vexed Trump who has blocked its reporters from the Oval Office and Air Force One as a consequence The AP is now fighting to have its access restored and at stake is whether the president is allowed to dictate which reporters and news organizations are allowed to cover official events in places like the Oval Office based on viewpoint INSIDE AP S FIRST AMENDMENT BATTLE WITH TRUMP S WHITE HOUSE AS GULF OF AMERICA DISPUTE HEADS BACK TO COURT If the president wants to invite particular people into the White House because of their political views I think the president is allowed to do that Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth argued on behalf of the administration The president routinely invites Republicans and not Democrats into the Oval Office for ceremonies Roth continued Nobody thinks he has to extend those invitations on a view-point neutral basis Roth stated that for the same reasons the president should be allowed to invite favored reporters and not disfavored reporters to watch a ceremony in the Oval Office Roth argued that the Oval Office and Air Force One are invitation only as opposed to the White House briefing room which is a dedicated workplace for journalists When it is a matter of invitation we don t apply viewpoint neutrality principles Roth noted The AP s attorney Charles Tobin explained the First Amendment does not stop at the Oval Office door when pushing for access to be restored Just like the president is not above the law the Oval Office is not a First Amendment-banned forum for the purposes of conducting the president s business Tobin mentioned Tobin repeatedly mentioned that the White House press pool has a longstanding system for covering the White House but judges pushed back and noted that the system has changed and evolved over the years TRUMP SIGNS PROCLAMATION DECLARING FEBRUARY 'GULF OF AMERICA DAY' AHEAD OF SUPER BOWL 'ANOTHER BIG WIN'Circuit Judges Robert Wilkins Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao heard the arguments An order is expected in the coming weeks In contemporary times AP once again stood up for the public's right to speak freely without administration retaliation an AP spokesperson stated Fox News Digital That s what we ve been doing throughout this incident defending this fundamental freedom for all Americans and all those who value freedom of speech The First Amendment doesn t stop at the Oval Office door The White House did not straightaway return a request for comment Associated Press senior vice president and executive editor Julie Pace narrated Fox News Digital ahead of the hearing that the decision to stick with the Gulf of Mexico is largely because the AP caters to a global audience and consumers outside the United States don t necessarily abide by Trump s name change She declared coverage indicates the president has signed an executive order renaming that body of water We re very clear about that we have no intention of downplaying that And I can fully understand why numerous people are choosing that name Pace disclosed But as a global news organization we have to use language that has the widest manageable application she continued That s Gulf of Mexico in this event ASSOCIATED PRESS SAYS IT WAS BARRED FROM OVAL OFFICE OVER USE OF 'GULF OF MEXICO'U S District Judge Trevor N McFadden a Trump appointee noted in April that the White House acted against the First Amendment by blocking the AP's access over its refusal to use the term Gulf of America The Trump administration appealed and the U S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit paused McFadden s order Pace is hopeful the appeals court will reaffirm the ruling at the lower court that she called a robust and powerful defense of the First Amendment This isn't even about the AP This isn't about the press This is about the First Amendment And we hear regularly that conservatives and liberals and everybody in between really value this protection And really what's at stake here is whether the regime can retaliate against you for the words you use Pace explained Fox News Digital FEDERAL JUDGE RULES WHITE HOUSE'S ASSOCIATED PRESS BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL FOR 'VIEWPOINT DISCRIMINATION'The Trump administration has previously declared the president has absolute discretion over media access to the White House The White House has declared no media outlets are guaranteed special access to cover the president in the Oval Office aboard Air Force One and in other sensitive locations President Trump is the the majority transparent and accessible President in American history The Trump White House s changes to the press pool have all been additive which is why we ve expanded access to new media in an unprecedented way Press secretary Karoline Leavitt has successfully ensured the White House press operation reflects the media habits of the American people in not White House spokesperson Davis Ingle previously informed Fox News Digital