United States President Donald Trump's media coverage ban in the White House has swirled into a legal battle between outlets and the Trump administration as CNN, MS Now, and Politico filed a lawsuit against the order.

The major television networks have also agreed to suspend their pooled coverage of Trump.

The media outlets have approached a Federal court in Washington, DC, seeking to overturn their ban from the White House grounds. They have argued the ban violates their First Amendment protections for freedom of speech and the press.

Moreover, they have alleged that the removal was carried out without proper notice or process. "Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference," the outlets said in a joint statement. "The government does not decide what the press reports or publishes," it added.

Trump had announced the ban on three outlets through social media on Friday, accusing them of publishing false reporting. On Monday, he defended his decision, rejecting the allegations of attacking press freedom. 

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"The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS," Trump wrote on Monday. He even called their coverage a threat to national security. 

Notably, Fox News Media, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News share responsibility and costs of covering the president. Their White House television pool is designed to ensure availability of videos of presidential events for all broadcasters when space or logistical restrictions prevent them from sending their own crew.

On Monday, CNN was scheduled to handle the pool. The events included the coverage of Trump's visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). However, it was restricted from carrying out the assignment due to Trump's ban.

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The other four networks in the pool decided to not fill CNN's space and instead suspended the coverage altogether. This does not mean that media networks will not cover the US President's events. Rather, the networks will not provide the shared pool feed for events covered under the presidential pool arrangement. Other outlets and journalists would continue reporting from outside the restricted access.

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