The Trump White House said in a letter Monday that it is dropping its effort to suspend CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass, but set rules it said if not followed, "may result in suspension or revocation" of a journalist's credentials.

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"Your hard pass is restored," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine wrote to Acosta. "Should you refuse to follow these rules in the future, we will take action in accordance with the rules," they wrote after outlining the rules. Trump was "aware of this decision and concurs," according to the letter.

Following the letter from the White House Monday afternoon, CNN dropped the case in court.

"Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta's press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House," CNN said in a statement.

The letter from the White House outlines four rules: a journalist "will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists," follow-up questions will be permitted "at the discretion of the president or other White House officials taking questions," "yielding the floor" is defined as "physically surrendering" the microphone and, lastly, "failure to abide" by any of the rules may result in "suspension or revocation of the journalist's hard pass."

Acosta was stripped of his press pass without warning earlier this month after a heated exchange during a press conference with President Donald Trump one day after the midterm elections. His press pass was temporarily restored by a court order Friday and the judge ordered both legal teams to submit a status report detailing how they would like to proceed by 3 p.m. on Monday.

The Friday ruling guaranteed Acosta use of his press pass to the White House through the end of the month. But over the weekend, the White House wasted no time informing Acosta of a “preliminary decision” to suspend his pass after that period is up. Lawyers for CNN responded Monday by filing for an emergency hearing the week after Thanksgiving, “or as soon thereafter as possible.”

The letter cites “behavior” at a press conference the day after the midterms that “violated the basic standards governing such events” as the reason to suspend Acosta’s pass. It’s signed by Bill Shine, deputy chief of staff for communications, and Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary, who are both named as defendants in the initial lawsuit.

Over the weekend, Acosta and CNN’s legal team wrote back to Sanders and Shine, calling the letter an “attempt to provide retroactive due process” and requesting the White House “refrain from — yet again — violating the constitutional rights of CNN and Acosta.”

In the letter, Acosta wrote that there were "no so-called 'widely understood practices'" governing press conferences, which the White House jumped on in outlining four rules on Monday.

Evan Vucci/AP

CNN filed a lawsuit earlier this week claiming that revoking Acosta's press pass to the White House, known as a "hard pass," violated the First Amendment.

White House Correspondents' Association President Olivier Knox issued a statement saying reporters should continue to be allowed to ask follow-up questions.

"The White House did the right thing in restoring Jim Acosta's hard pass," the statement said. "The White House Correspondents' Association had no role in crafting any procedures for future press conferences. For as long as there have been White House press conferences, White House reporters have asked follow-up questions. We fully expect this tradition will continue. We will continue to make the case that a free and independent news media plays a vital role in the health of our republic," Knox said.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly repeatedly emphasized at the court hearing on Friday that his decision to return Acosta's press pass, with a temporary restraining order as litigation continues, was based on the Fifth Amendment, under which the judge ruled Acosta was denied his right to due process. Due process would give Acosta and CNN the chance to rebut and challenge the appropriateness of the government’s action.

In his remarks, Kelly made clear that the ruling, which is only the beginning of the court proceedings to decide Acosta’s White House access, was narrow and didn’t determine whether or not Acosta’s First Amendment right was violated.

ABC News' Jonathan Karl contributed to this report.</s>The White House has restored press credentials for CNN correspondent Jim Acotsa, warning him that he could lose them again if he fails to follow press conference rules.

The White House revoked Acosta's press pass after a testy exchange with President Donald Trump during a nationally televised press conference two weeks ago.

CNN says the White House "backed down" and that it will drop its lawsuit against the Trump administration.

Acosta refused to surrender the microphone as he tried to ask Trump a follow-up question. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders accused Acosta of physically pushing away the hand of an intern who tried to take the microphone — an allegation Acosta denied.

"For years, members of the White House press corps have attended countless press events with the president and other officials without engaging in the behavior Mr. Acosta displayed at the November 7 press conference," Sanders said Monday.

She informed Acosta in a letter that he is once again welcome in the White House, but warned he and other reporters could lose their press passes if they fail to carry out what she calls "explicit rules" — a reporter is allowed just one question; only the president or others taking questions will allow a follow-up; and "yielding the floor" means hand over the microphone to an aide.

At the November 7 news conference, Acosta questioned Trump whether he demonized a caravan of Central American migrants hoping to cross into the U.S. from Mexico as an "invasion." Trump responded that he believed it was an invasion, telling Acosta, "Honestly, I think you should let me run the country."

But the exchange with Trump grew tense when Acosta tried to ask the president another question about the Russian election meddling investigation.

The president said he wasn't concerned "about anything" because he considered the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller a hoax. But he then lit into Acosta, calling him a "rude, terrible person."

The White House revoked Acosta's press credentials. However, a federal judge last Friday ordered the White House to reinstate the credentials for 14 days, saying the ban may have violated Acosta's constitutional right of freedom of the press.

When the White House threatened to block Acosta again at the end of the month, CNN asked the judge for another emergency hearing, accusing the White House of not responding to its offer to reach a settlement.

Sanders called Trump the "most accessible president in modern history" and said the White House wished it could continue to host press conferences with a "set of understood professional norms."

Trump told Fox News Sunday, "Nobody believes in the First Amendment more than I do … and if I think somebody's acting out of sorts I will leave. I will say, 'Thank you very much everybody, thank you very much for coming' and I will leave. And those reporters will not be too friendly to whoever it is that's acting up."</s>White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders laid out new rules for press pool journalists Monday, following their quarrel with CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

New “rules that will govern White House press conferences going forward” appeared to be written toward Acosta specifically:
• A journalist called upon to ask a question will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists.
• At the discretion of the President or other White House official taking questions, a follow-up question or questions may be permitted; and where a follow up has been allowed and asked, the questioner will then yield the floor.
• Yielding the floor” includes, when applicable, physically surrendering the microphone to White House staff for use by the next questioner.
• Failure to abide by any of rules may result in suspension or revocation of the journalist’s hard pass.

“We have created these rules with a degree of regret,” the press secretary acknowledged. “For years, members of the White House press corps have attended countless press events with the President and other officials without engaging in the behavior Mr. Acosta displayed at the November 7, 2018 press conference. We would have greatly preferred to continue hosting White House press conferences in reliance on a set of understood professional norms, and we believe the overwhelming majority of journalists covering the White House share that preference. But, given the position taken by CNN, we now feel obligated to replace previously shared practices with explicit rules.”

On Monday, CNN announced Acosta’s press pass had been reinstated and they would drop their lawsuit against the White House, after a federal judge ruled in their favor.

Asked Sunday during an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace what he thought of the judge’s decision, President Trump said the administration would create new rules as ordered by the judge, but Acosta would have to abide by them.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I mean it’s not a big deal. What they said though is that we have to create rules and regulations for conduct et cetera, et cetera,” Trump said.

“We’re doing that, we’re going to write them up right now,” the president added. “It’s not a big deal, and if he misbehaves we’ll throw him out or we’ll stop the news conference.”

Last week the Press Secretary stood firm that Acosta would not have his pass reinstated after he physically prevented a White House aide from taking his microphone.

Read the White House’s new rules below:

This afternoon we have notified Jim Acosta and CNN that his hard pass has been restored. We have also notified him of certain rules that will govern White House press conferences going forward. They are listed here:
• A journalist called upon to ask a question will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists.
• At the discretion of the President or other White House official taking questions, a follow-up question or questions may be permitted; and where a follow up has been allowed and asked, the questioner will then yield the floor.
• Yielding the floor” includes, when applicable, physically surrendering the microphone to White House staff for use by the next questioner.
• Failure to abide by any of rules may result in suspension or revocation of the journalist’s hard pass. We have created these rules with a degree of regret. For years, members of the White House press corps have attended countless press events with the President and other officials without engaging in the behavior Mr. Acosta displayed at the November 7, 2018 press conference. We would have greatly preferred to continue hosting White House press conferences in reliance on a set of understood professional norms, and we believe the overwhelming majority of journalists covering the White House share that preference. But, given the position taken by CNN, we now feel obligated to replace previously shared practices with explicit rules. We are mindful that a more elaborate and comprehensive set of rules might need to be devised, including, for example, for journalist conduct in the open (non-press room) areas inside and outside the White House and for Air Force One. At this time however, we have decided not to frame such rules in the hope that professional journalistic norms will suffice to regulate conduct in those places. If unprofessional behavior occurs in those settings, or if a court should decide that explicit rules are required to regulate conduct there, we will be forced to reconsider this decision. The White House’s interaction with the press is, and generally should be, subject to a natural give-and-take. President Trump believes strongly in the First Amendment, and a free press and is the most accessible President in modern history. It would be a great loss for all if, instead of relying on the professionalism of White House journalists, we were compelled to devise a lengthy and detailed code of conduct for White House events.</s>The White House on Monday said that CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass has been restored after the network filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, CNN reported. On Friday, a federal judge ordered the White House to reinstate Acosta’s press pass.

“Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta’s press pass,” CNN said in a statement. “As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House.”

In a letter to Acosta, the White House said it is also establishing new rules for conduct at presidential press conferences. The rules include limiting each reporter to a single question, with follow-up questions permitted “at the discretion of the President or other White House officials”, USA Today reported quoting the letter.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement said failing to follow the new rules could lead to reporters losing their press passes. “We have created these rules with a degree of regret,” she said. “We would have greatly preferred to continue hosting White House press conferences in reliance on a set of understood professional norms, and we believe the overwhelming majority of journalists covering the White House share that preference. But, given the position taken by CNN, we now feel obligated to replace previously shared practices with explicit rules.”

On November 7, the White House revoked the press pass issued to Acosta “until further notice”. The incident followed an interaction between President Donald Trump and Acosta, in which Trump called the reporter a “rude and terrible person” after he asked him several questions during a post midterm election press conference.

CNN filed a lawsuit on November 13, accusing the Trump administration of violating the First and Fifth Amendment rights of Acosta and CNN. The First Amendment protects free speech while the Fifth Amendment mandates due process of law and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy.</s>Washington, Nov 20 (IANS) CNN on Monday ended its lawsuit against US President Donald Trump after the White House returned reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass, media reported.

The cable news network on Monday tweeted: “Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta’s press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House.” reports Efe.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that the government spoke with Acosta on Monday afternoon and told him that his press pass had been fully restored, a gesture whereby the administration backed off from the threats it had been making prior to that to exclude him from further access to the White House.

However, the return of his pass is conditional on Acosta’s abiding by a set of new rules at presidential news conferences, including asking just one question at a time.

As CNN reported, the White House earlier had warned Acosta that it would suspend his press pass again at the end of this month, when the temporary ruling to restore it issued last week by a judge expires.

The magistrate in the case, Timothy Kelly, last Friday ordered the White House to temporarily return Acosta’s accreditation for at least 14 days, a period that will lapse at the end of November if the judge does not decide to extend it.

The White House suspended Acosta’s press credentials on November 7 due to his reluctance to immediately hand over the microphone after posing a question to Trump during a press conference, a move that led CNN to sue the president.

Numerous media outlets, including Trump’s favourite network — Fox News — backed CNN in its suit against the White House, concerned over the impact of the White House’s recently unprecedented move on freedom of the press.</s>WASHINGTON — The White House fully restored CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s hard pass on Monday, and the news network in turn ended their litigation against the Trump administration.

At the same time, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders outlined a new set of rules for the media during press conferences. But those, too, may be legally problematic.

The rules are: 1) A journalist called upon to ask a question will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists; 2) At the discretion of the president or other White House official taking questions, a follow-up question or questions may be permitted; and where a follow-up has been allowed and asked, the questioner will then yield the floor; 3) “Yielding the floor” includes, when applicable, physically surrendering the microphone to White House staff for use by the next questioner; 4) Failure to abide by any of rules (1)-(3) may result in suspension or revocation of the journalist’s hard pass.

They sound simple enough, and don’t make any mention of a reporters’ content, viewpoint, or type of question.

CNN Requests New Hearing After White House Threatens to Revoke Jim Acosta's Hard Pass Again

Yet some reporters immediately reacted with a sense of alarm.

“There is now a threat to ban reporters from the White House for asking a follow-up question without permission even once,” Todd Gillman, the Washington bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News, wrote on Twitter.

“These rules would enable any even half-competent speaker to avoid answering any and all questions posed to them by the press. The @WHCA should strongly oppose this move by the White House,” wrote Chris Geidner, the legal editor for BuzzFeed News.

In her statement, Sanders said they created the rules with “a degree of regret,” and characterized them as merely replacing previously unwritten “shared practices” between the White House staff and the press corps.

The difference now is that there is the explicit written threat of losing a hard pass.

Katie Townsend, legal director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said they “are very concerned by these new ‘rules’ governing press briefings.”

“While a [White House] official has always been able to decline to answer a follow-up question, these ‘rules’ suggest that a reporter could jeopardize her or his hard pass simply by attempting to ask a single follow-up question without permission,” she said via email. “How these ‘rules’ will be applied is entirely unclear, and the way they are written leaves wide open the possibility that the [White House] will use them as an excuse to avoid answering questions it does not like, or — as it did with Mr. Acosta and CNN — to punish particular reporters and news outlets based on what the [White House] views as unfavorable coverage of the Administration.”

Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s speech, privacy, and technology project, said the rules “give the White House far too much discretion to avoid real scrutiny. Asking an ‘unauthorized’ follow-up question cannot be the basis for excluding a reporter. The rules should be revised to ensure that no journalist gets kicked out of the White House for doing their job.”

“The White House belongs to the public, not the president, and the job of the press is to ask hard questions, not to be polite company,” he added.

The judge in the case, Timothy Kelly, ruled only that the White House failed to give Acosta his due process. What he didn’t determine is on what grounds the Trump administration actually could take steps to revoke a credential.

The 1977 D.C. Circuit case Sherrill v. Knight, involving a reporter for the Nation who was denied a credential, has been a guiding precedent in the litigation. The judges in that case wrote that access “not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons.” The White House argued that its reasons met that threshold, while CNN claimed that the action was arbitrary and meant as retaliation over the network’s coverage.

While there may have been implicit traditions and unwritten standards of decorum among the press corps, CNN made the case that the White House’s action was unprecedented. It’s one reason that CNN enlisted Sam Donaldson to file a sworn declaration in their case. In his day, he too came under criticism for aggressive behavior and for shouting questions at the president, yet he said that no administration threatened to revoke his hard pass.

Laura Prather, a media law attorney and partner at Haynes and Boone in Austin, said “you are not finding jurisprudence [on press access] because this was such an extreme measure taken by the White House.”

Olivier Knox, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said they “had no role in crafting any procedures for future press conferences.”

He did express some concern over the rule on asking follow-up questions, but for now they will wait and see.

“For as long as there have been White House press conferences, White House reporters have asked follow-up questions,” he said. “We fully expect this tradition will continue. We will continue to make the case that a free and independent news media plays a vital role in the health of our republic.”

Should the White House try to pull other reporters’ passes over other incidents, it’s a good bet for another legal showdown.</s>CNN dropped its lawsuit against the White House on Monday after officials told the network that they would restore reporter Jim Acosta's press credentials as long as he abides by a series of new rules at presidential news conferences, including asking just one question at a time.

"Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta's press pass," CNN said in a statement. "As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House."

The White House's move to restore Acosta's pass, announced in a letter to the news network, appeared to be a capitulation to CNN in its brief legal fight against the administration. White House officials had suspended Acosta's White House press pass following a contentious news conference on Nov. 7, prompting CNN to sue last week to force the administration to return it.

Just three days ago, press secretary Sarah Sanders and deputy chief of staff Bill Shine told Acosta and CNN that they would suspend his press pass again once a temporary restraining order against such an action expired. The 14-day order was issued by a judge on Friday and was due to expire at the end of the month.

CNN went to court seeking to block that action, and on Monday the White House seemed to back down.

Sanders and Shine said they had made a "final determination" that Acosta's pass would be restored permanently as long as he followed new rules guiding reporters' conduct at White House news conferences.

In a letter to Acosta, they wrote, "Should you refuse to follow these rules in the future, we will take action" to remove the pass.

Among the rules: Reporters must ask only one question of the president at news conferences, but they can follow up with another if the president consents. A reporter must then "yield the floor," including giving up a microphone. Failure to abide by these rules, the White House letter said, will result in revocation of a journalist's White House pass.

The letter prompted CNN to end its litigation against the White House.

The new rules effectively codify what has already been traditional practice at White House press events. Acosta, however, was banned from the White House after he asked multiple questions of President Trump at the Nov. 7 news conference and briefly tangled with a White House press aide who sought to take a microphone from his hand.

The revocation precipitated a brief but colorful legal crossfire between CNN and the White House over the past 12 days.

CNN first fought back against the White House's "indefinite" suspension of Acosta, winning a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Friday that gave Acosta a reprieve for two weeks.

Then it objected to the White House's fallback position - that it would take the pass away once the TRO expired. CNN's attorney, Theodore Boutrous, told the court that such an action amounted to "retroactive due process."

He also said that the White House was attempting to impose "vague, unarticulated standards" retroactively in violation of the court's finding on Friday that Acosta wasn't given due process by the White House when it revoked his pass.

CNN had been seeking a preliminary injunction that would prevent the White House from suspending Acosta's pass until its lawsuit was resolved.

The tide seemed to turn in CNN's favor on Friday. In a ruling seen as a victory for press freedom, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly - appointed by Trump - ordered the White House to temporarily restore Acosta's press pass while he considers the merits of the case and the possibility of a permanent order.

He said the White House has an obligation to afford due process to Acosta before it can revoke or suspend his access, and found that the White House's decision-making process in this case was "so shrouded in mystery that the government could not tell me . . . who made the decision."

Trump said Friday that "we're setting up a certain standard, which is what the court is requesting," but no particular new rules had been publicly issued. On that day, after the court's order was issued, Sanders said the White House would "develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future. There must be decorum at the White House."

Sanders initially said the press-pass suspension was due to Acosta "placing his hands" on the intern, but the White House later changed its reasoning after Sanders was widely criticized for tweeting a video of the incident that appeared to be altered to make Acosta look more aggressive. Sanders subsequently said Acosta's pass was revoked because Acosta attempted to "monopolize the floor" at the news conference.

In defending the White House's decision, Justice Department lawyers argued that it was not an infringement on the First Amendment because the network had other White House reporters who are "more than capable of covering the White House complex on CNN's behalf," and Acosta could still "practice his profession and report on the White House" - just not at the White House.

Kelly found that a reporter's "First Amendment liberty interest in a White House press pass" is protected by the Fifth Amendment's due-process guarantees. In essence, he faulted the White House for failing to establish rules and procedures for taking the action it took.

In deciding whether barring Acosta amounted to "irreparable harm," a standard for granting temporary restraining orders, Kelly pointed to the case of journalist Robert Sherrill, who fought the White House's denial of his press pass in 1977 and also won the right to due process and a restoration of his pass.</s>The White House reversed course on Monday in its bid to boot CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the West Wing, and instead issued new guidelines aimed at maintaining control of press conference questions.

Despite a court order that Acosta not be kicked out of the press pool, the White House sent the reporter and CNN a letter on Friday evening, telling the network it still planned to remove him with a formal announcement at 3 p.m. on Monday.

By that deadline, the White House blinked.

"Having received a formal reply from your counsel to our letter of November 16, we have made a final determination in this process: your hard pass is restored," according to the letter co-signed by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and deputy chief of staff Bill Shine.

The White House, however, said all reporters must now abide by a new four-part policy about covering press conferences:
• Only one question per reporter.
• Any follow-ups are purely at the discretion of the president or any other White House official answering questions.
• "Yielding the floor includes, when applicable, physically surrendering the microphone."
• Any violations of these rules "may result in suspension or revocation" of a White House press pass.

The White House has long resented Acosta's work and that reached a boiling point on Nov. 7. It led to an awkward moment when a young female White House intern was sent to take a microphone from Acosta, who didn't immediately hand it over.

The White House revoked Acosta's press pass and CNN went to court and won a favorable ruling last week.

A judge temporarily restored Acosta’s press pass last week and told both sides to reach a settlement, one the White House said it has no interest in reaching.

"Your behavior at the November 7 press conference violated the basic standards governing such events, and is, in our preliminary judgment, sufficient factual basis to revoke your hard pass," according to the Friday letter from Sanders and Shine.

"While this is our preliminary decision, we would be pleased to consider any material you would like to submit in response to it," according to the letter, which praised President Donald Trump and claimed the White House bends over backward to be open.

"As you know, President Trump has provided an extraordinary amount of access to journalists to ask questions, while operating an extremely open and transparent White House," according to Sanders and Shine, a former Fox News executive.

CNN went to court again on Monday seeking relief for Acosta. But that's no longer necessary.

"Today the @WhiteHouse fully restored @Acosta's press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary," CNN tweeted. "We look forward to continuing to cover the White House."</s>This afternoon we have notified Jim Acosta and CNN that his hard pass has been restored. We have also notified him of certain rules that will govern White House press conferences going forward. They are listed here:
• A journalist called upon to ask a question will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists;
• At the discretion of the President or other White House official taking questions, a follow-up question or questions may be permitted; and where a follow up has been allowed and asked, the questioner will then yield the floor;
• "Yielding the floor" includes, when applicable, physically surrendering the microphone to White House staff for use by the next questioner;
• Failure to abide by any of rules (1)-(3) may result in suspension or revocation of the journalist's hard pass.

We have created these rules with a degree of regret. For years, members of the White House press corps have attended countless press events with the President and other officials without engaging in the behavior Mr. Acosta displayed at the November 7, 2018 press conference. We would have greatly preferred to continue hosting White House press conferences in reliance on a set of understood professional norms, and we believe the overwhelming majority of journalists covering the White House share that preference. But, given the position taken by CNN, we now feel obligated to replace previously shared practices with explicit rules.

We are mindful that a more elaborate and comprehensive set of rules might need to be devised, including, for example, for journalist conduct in the open (non-press room) areas inside and outside the White House and for Air Force One. At this time however, we have decided not to frame such rules in the hope that professional journalistic norms will suffice to regulate conduct in those places. If unprofessional behavior occurs in those settings, or if a court should decide that explicit rules are required to regulate conduct there, we will be forced to reconsider this decision.

The White House's interaction with the press is, and generally should be, subject to a natural give-and-take. President Trump believes strongly in the First Amendment, and a free press and is the most accessible President in modern history. It would be a great loss for all if, instead of relying on the professionalism of White House journalists, we were compelled to devise a lengthy and detailed code of conduct for White House events.</s>After the White House decreed it would yank reporter Jim Acosta's press pass after the court-ordered 14-day grace period, the White House backed down and agreed to fully reinstate it.

In a statement, CNN said, “Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta’s press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House.”

In turn, CNN dropped their lawsuit filed to force reinstatement.

And everyone lived happily ever after. Or not. Huckabee Sanders and Bill Shine also laid down some rules, which appear to be set to ban reporters who dare to follow up on their questions, after warning CNN and Acosta that should he refuse to follow these new rules, they would "take action" to take away his pass again.

Here are the rules, as reported by the Washington Post: Reporters must ask one question of the president at news conferences but can follow up with another if the president chooses. A reporter must then “yield the floor,” including giving up a microphone.

Presumably this gives President Man-Baby the right to object to the first question and ignore it in favor of someone friendlier.

In other news, the White House Correspondents' Association is so afraid of Tyrannical Donald's fury that they're not going to have a comedian headline their dinner this year, opting instead for writer Ron Chernow.

Honestly, that dinner is an abomination anyway. It would be better if the media stopped mingling with the politicians and just did their reporting, access or not.

The war on the First Amendment will rage on, I'm sure. They're just giving the reporters they hate enough rope to hang themselves, because the good ones won't bow before the throne of the Orange Scourge.
The White House also issues a set of four guidelines reporters must follow at press conferences to avoid further press pass revocations.