White House bars AP reporter, defying court order

State of play: The administration acknowledged the judge's order in a letter to an appeals court Monday, while asking for an administrative stay to extend the period of time it can avoid having to abide by the ruling.

• It asked that a stay be granted until Thursday, when both sides are set to deliver oral arguments in an appeals court.
• If the appeals court denies its emergency motion to extend the stay, the White House is asking for the stay be extended "an additional seven days in order to provide the Solicitor General with an opportunity to seek relief," it wrote.
• The AP sent a letter to the appeals court in "opposition to the government's 'reiterated' request for an administrative stay."

Between the lines: Even if a stay was granted, the White House has a high bar to clear in getting a panel of three appeals court judges to rule in favor of overturning the district judge's decision.

• It would need to prove not just that it's likely to succeed on the merit of the case, but also that it's suffering irreparable harm from the ruling.

The big picture: In siding with the AP last week in its lawsuit against three Trump administration officials, U.S. district judge Trevor McFadden, who was appointed to his position by President Trump in 2017, set a new precedent for news companies covering public officials.

• His ruling stated that under the First Amendment, the government can't bar journalists from certain government events because of their viewpoints.

What to watch: The district court ruling doesn't prohibit the White House from otherwise choosing which outlets it wishes to engage with for interviews or questions at press briefings.

• The White House said last week that it will ignore reporters whose emails contain gender pronouns in the signature.
• It plans to impose its own seating chart for reporters in the briefing room in coming weeks, Axios reported.