A.P. Sues Trump Officials Over White House Ban

The Associated Press filed a lawsuit on Friday against top White House officials, accusing them of violating the First and Fifth Amendments by denying A.P.reporters access in retaliation for references to the Gulf of Mexico in its articles.The lawsuit was filed in the U.S.

District Court for the District of Columbia.It named as defendants Taylor Budowich, the White House deputy chief of staff; Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary; and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.In the complaint, The A.P.

said that the White House had ordered it to use certain words in its reporting and that it was suing “to vindicate its rights to the editorial independence guaranteed by the United States Constitution and to prevent the executive branch from coercing journalists to report the news using only government-approved language.”The lawsuit centers on The A.P.’s decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its articles, rather than the Gulf of America, as the body of water was decreed by President Trump in an executive order on Jan.20.The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.According to the lawsuit, The A.P.’s chief White House correspondent, Zeke Miller, was informed by Ms.

Leavitt, the White House press secretary, on Feb.11 that at President Trump’s direction, The A.P.

would be barred from certain areas of the White House as a member of the press pool unless the organization used the Gulf of America term.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....