Justice Department and CNN spar over Acosta's press pass

President Donald Trump's administration is trying to fend off a legal challenge from CNN and other outlets over the revocation of journalist Jim Acosta's White House "hard pass."
"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."
On Wednesday, Justice Department lawyer James Burnham argued that Acosta was guilty of "inappropriate grandstanding" and deserved to lose his access over "his refusal to comply with the general standards of a press conference."
"The White House has made very clear that they don't like the content of the reporting by CNN and Jim Acosta," Boutrous said. "Rudeness really is a code word for 'I don't like you being an aggressive reporter.'"

A pre-hearing legal filing argued, "The President and his designees in the White House Press Office have exercised their discretion not to engage with him and, by extension, to no longer grant him on-demand access to the White House complex so that he can attempt to interact with the President or White House officials."
Trump himself, in an interview published Wednesday, was uncertain how the court fight would end, saying: "We'll see how the court rules. Is it freedom of the press when somebody comes in and starts screaming questions and won't sit down?"
Trump told The Daily Caller that "guys like Acosta" were "bad for the country. ... He's just an average guy who's a grandstander who's got the guts to stand up and shout."