Ruling Expected in CNN-WH Case         11/16 06:31

   A judge is expected to announce Friday whether he will order the Trump 
administration to return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim 
Acosta.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- A judge is expected to announce Friday whether he will 
order the Trump administration to return the White House press credentials of 
CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

   U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, an appointee of President Donald 
Trump, has set a hearing for Friday morning to announce his decision.

   CNN has asked the judge for an order that would force the White House to 
immediately hand back the credentials that give Acosta, CNN's chief White House 
correspondent, access to the White House complex for press briefings and other 
events. CNN wants Acosta's credentials restored while a lawsuit over his 
credentials' revocation goes forward.

   The White House revoked Acosta's credentials after he and Trump tangled 
during a press conference last week.

   Trump has made his dislike of CNN clear since before he took office and 
continuing into his presidency. He has described the network as "fake news" 
both on Twitter and in public comments.

   At last week's press conference , which followed the midterm elections, 
Trump was taking questions from reporters and called on Acosta, who asked about 
Trump's statements about a caravan of migrants making its way to the 
U.S.-Mexico border. After a terse exchange, Trump told Acosta, "That's enough," 
several times while calling on another reporter.

   Acosta attempted to ask another question about special counsel Robert 
Mueller's Russia investigation and initially declined to give up a hand-held 
microphone to a White House intern. Trump responded to Acosta by saying he 
wasn't concerned about the investigation, calling it a "hoax," and then 
criticized Acosta, calling him a "rude, terrible person."

   The White House pulled Acosta's credentials hours later.

   The White House's explanations for why it seized Acosta's credentials have 
shifted over the last week.

   White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders initially explained the 
decision by accusing Acosta of making improper physical contact with the intern 
seeking to grab the microphone.

   But that rationale disappeared after witnesses backed Acosta's account that 
he was just trying to keep the microphone, and Sanders distributed a doctored 
video that made it appear Acosta was more aggressive than he actually was. On 
Tuesday, Sanders accused Acosta of being unprofessional by trying to dominate 
the questioning at the news conference.


(KA)