CBS News announced it will file an amicus brief in support of CNN, saying in a statement it supports the White House Correspondents Association and CNN’s legal fight to restore Acosta’s access. Fox News President Jay Wallace issued a statement Wednesday that said his division will file an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court that backs the lawsuit filed by CNN against President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend Acosta’s White House press pass after a conflict at a news conference last week. “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.”

Fox News is among more than a dozen news companies and journalism organizations that plan to file friend of court briefs on behalf of CNN, including the Los Angeles Times, NBC News, the Associated Press, USA Today Network, the New York Times, the Washington Post and Gannett Co.

“It is imperative that independent journalists have access to the President and his activities, and that journalists are not barred for arbitrary reasons,” the entities said in a joint statement. The White House, meanwhile, argued in a brief that its sanctions for Acosta were “viewpoint- and content-neutral” and “are evident from the video of the November 7 press conference.” The White House had initially claimed that it had banned Acosta because he had placed “his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern.”

When this explanation was almost universally rejected (despite an altered video shared by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders), the White House said in a subsequent statement Tuesday that Acosta “inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters” and had “physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions.”

While Trump’s base of support has continued to be riled up in anger against CNN, the media has not taken the bait.
Several media organizations file amicus briefs in support of CNN.